
\ °* 



















































































4 o 



•'• 







. 






























c\ 







^■#>; ^ '*r.^; » ** -Viife^' 



























/Y *o . ► 



\<UX> ^*^ <>\ 



-y-X 



THE NATURAL HISTORY 

AND THE 

TOPOGRAPHY 

OF 

GROTON, MASSACHUSETTS 



TOGETHER WITH OTHER MATTER RELATING TO 
THE HISTORY OF THE TOWN 



BY 

SAMUEL ABBOTT GREEN 



Facts lie at the foundation of history, and they are the raw material 
of all narrative writing 



GROTON 

1912 



f3 



Ilntbcrsito 19reas: 
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, U.S.A. 






fM 



TO 

2TJ)c Iflemcirg 

OF 

SAMUEL AUGUSTUS SHATTUCK 

AND HIS WIFE 

SARAH PARKER SHATTUCK 

— BOTH NATIVES OF THE TOWN — 

WITH WHOM MY PERSONAL ASSOCIATIONS DURING 

THE LATER YEARS OF THEIR LIVES WERE 

ALWAYS SO PLEASANT 

THESE PAGES ARE INSCRIBED 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 

WITH the exception of Miss Elizabeth Sewall Hill's paper 
on the Flora and Fauna of the town, and of a very few others 
that were first printed in newspapers, these several articles 
have already appeared in the Groton Historical Series. In 
the present form the opportunity has been taken to make 
certain changes in the text of such articles. 

Miss Hill, by her knowledge and love of nature, is remark- 
ably well fitted to describe the Flora and Fauna. The hills 
and valleys of the town, with all their shrubbery and other 
vegetation, and the brooks and meadows with their moats 
and swamps, are well-known to her ; and the various animals 
that live on the land or in the water are equally familiar. The 
birds even seem to know that she is a lover of their species, 
and they are always ready to answer her calls when she imi- 
tates their notes. As a labor of love on her part, she has 
written this description, and, by her courtesy and kindness 
in the matter, she has placed me under special obligations. 

I like to think of the hills and woods as animate objects 
who know their friends ; and I never go into the fields and 
meadows without listening to their call. They have their own 
peculiar speech, and by close observation one can learn their 
dialect. I never stroll at random without heeding their words. 
Even the birds and the squirrels send messages which can be 
translated into our tongue. The running brooks and the 
stone walls all help us to learn these lessons, for they, too, 
take part in the drama 



vi INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 

I have included in these pages a few short articles that, 
strictly speaking, do not come under the subjects given in 
the main title of the book. It has seemed to me proper, 
however, to bring them under cover, and in this way to save 
them, as they relate to matters closely connected with the 
early history of the town. 

March 16, 1912. 



THE NATURAL HISTORY AND THE 

TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, 

MASSACHUSETTS. 



FLORA. 

Nature, the old nurse, took 

The child upon her knee, 
Saying: " Here is a story-book 

Thy Father has written for thee. 

" Come wander with me," she said, 

" Into regions yet untrod ; 
And read what is still unread 

In the manuscripts of God." 

And he wandered away and away 

With Nature, the dear old nurse, 
Who sang to him night and day 

The rhymes of the universe. 

And whenever the way seemed long, 

Or his heart began to fail, 
She would sing a more wonderful song, 

Or tell a more marvelous tale. 

Longfellow to Agassiz, on his golden birthday . 

GROTON has a widely varied Flora. Its beautiful trees have 
always been admired, especially the elms ; not only those 
which add so much beauty to the Main Street, but also many 
in the outlying districts. Two of the largest as well as the 
oldest elms were set out in 1740, — one in the grounds of Mr. 



2 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

James Lawrence and the other in our own yard. An unusu- 
ally beautiful purple beech is in the yard of Dr. Kilbourn. A 
large oak grows on the Reedy Meadow road. A larger 
maple stands in front of the Champney Place. A row of 
beautiful Norway spruces is near the Groton Paper Mill. 
Larches and pines grow in Mr. James Lawrence's grounds 
on the West Groton road. The willows on Broad Meadow 
Road form a pretty avenue. Besides these many pri- 
vate estates abound in native as well as cultivated varieties. 
Over ninety trees and shrubs, cultivated and wild, could be 
found eight years ago beside the road between my home 
and the top of Long Hill. Too little care is taken to 
preserve the native shrubs and many are destroyed. There 
are many old-fashioned gardens as well as the more formal 
ones. 

The Groton Improvement Society has done much toward 
keeping the small parks in good condition, setting out shrubs, 
providing rubbish barrels, giving money to promote school 
gardening and nature study. The Groton children have won 
many prizes at the School Garden Competitions of the Mas- 
sachusetts Horticultural Society in Boston, not only for the 
best school and home gardens but also for the best display 
of vegetables and for the best herbariums. 

The third and fourth grades of the Butler School have found 
every tree included in the Course of Study, growing between 
the Public Library and the Baptist Church. It is hoped 
that in the near future a School Garden may be started on 
the Lawrence Playground in connection with the vegetable 
and flower gardens, where every native tree, shrub and plant 
may be represented. 

It is well to begin with the lowest forms of plant life 
and ascend the scale. The smaller are the more numerous. 
The following classes include the whole vegetable king- 
dom, each being represented by at least one species in 
Groton : 



FLORA. 



Thallophvta 



Bryophyta 



Pteridophyta . 
Gymnosperjntae . 

Angtospermae . 



Algae 

Fungi 

I Lichens 

Mosses 
[ Hepaticae 

f Ferns 

\ Horsetails 

t Club-Mosses 



Pines, etc. 

Grasses 
Plants 
Shrubs 
Foliage Trees 



There are many kinds of Algae, such as slime, moulds and 
yeast bacteria. Spirogyra, or Green Pond Scum, is a very 
common example. The green mould on rocks and old stone 
walls is another species. Many Fungi, Toadstools or Mush- 
rooms may be seen. Coral Mushrooms may be found in pine 
woods. The Polyporeae, also called the Bracket Fungi, attack 
trees. Puff Balls and Earth Stars grow on the ground. Be- 
sides these are many commonly known as Toadstools or 
Mushrooms. The Lichens form a higher class of Thallo- 
phytes and are often taken for Mosses. They are found on 
trees, rocks and in damp places. The most common are 
the Usnea barbata, or Beard Lichen, growing on trees, and 
the Xanthoria parietina, which forms little round mats on the 
bark of trees. The bright red, coral-like, little Cladonia 
coccifera is found in damp places and on stumps. In the 
Bryophyta class are the Liverworts and Mosses. The Liver- 
worts may be found on stones, wood, etc., in wet places and 
are very numerous, as are also the Mosses. The Sphagnum 
and Pigeon Wheat Mosses are those most commonly seen. 
In the Pteridophyta class are the Ferns, Horse-tails and 
Club-Mosses. The Ferns are many and beautiful. They are 
so repeatedly cut back on the roadside that much beauty 
has been destroyed. Some varieties, like the Maidenhair and 



4 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

Climbing Ferns, have been almost exterminated by man for 
decorations. The following species may be found in Groton : 

Polypody Fern. Polypodium vulgare. Rockwood's pasture. 
July i. 

Maidenhair. Adiantum pedatum. Moist woods and hillsides. 

July 4- 

Common Brake. Pteris aquilina. Meadows. August i. 

Cliff-Brake. Pellaea gracilis. Black Pond. July i. 

Pellaea atropurpurea. Rockwood's pasture. July. 

Chain Fern. Woodwardia Virginica. Ayer road. July. 

Maidenhair Spleenwort. Asplenium Trichomanes. Rockwood's 
pasture. July. 

Spleenwort. Asplenium ebeneum. Rockwood's pasture. July. 

Silvery Spleenwort. Asplenium thelypteroides. Rockwood's pas- 
ture. July. 

Lady Fern. Asplenium Filix-foemina. Quasoponagon meadows. 
July. ' 

Walking-Leaf. Camptosorus rhizophyllus. By river. July. 

Beech Fern. Phegopteris polypodioides. Woods. July. 

Phegopteris hexagonoptera. Woods. July. 

Phegopteris Dryopteris. Woods. July. 

Shield Fern. Aspidium Thelypteris. Quasoponagon meadows. 
August. 

Aspidium spinulosum. Woods. July. 

Aspidium intermedium. Rockwood's pasture. July. 

Aspidium Booth. Rockwood's pasture. July. 

Aspidium cristatum. Quasoponagon meadows. July. 

Aspidium Clintonanum. Quasoponagon meadows. July. 

Aspidium Goldianum. Quasoponagon meadows. July. 

Aspidium marginale. West Groton road. August. 

Christmas Fern. Aspidium acrostichoides. Rockwood's pasture. 
July. 

Bladder Fern. Cystopteris bulbifera. Woods. July. 

Sensitive Fern. Onoclea sensibilis. Quasoponagon meadows. July- 

Onoclea Struthiopteris. Woods. July. 

Woodsia obtusa. Black Pond. July. 

Woodsia Ilvensis. Rockwood's pasture. June. 

Dirksonia pilosiuscula. Quasoponagon meadows. July. 

Lygodium palmatum. Climbing Fern. Nashua River bank. 
September. 



FLORA. 

Flowering Fern. Osmunda regalis. Elm Avenue. May. 
Interrupted Fern. Osmunda Claytoniana. Elm Avenue. May. 
Cinnamon Fern. Osmunda cinnamomea. Elm Avenue. May. 



ADDER'S TONGUE FAMILY. 

Botrychium Lunaria. Black Pond. June. 
Botrychium lanceolatum. Black Pond. June. 
Botrychium ternatum. Pine Avenue. June. 



CLUB MOSS FAMILY. 

Lycopodium Selago. Quasoponagon meadows. August. 
Lycopodium lucidulum. Pine woods. August. 
Lycopodium inundatum. Woods. August. 
Lycopodium obscurum. Woods. July. 

Common Club- Moss. Lycopodium clavatum. Pine woods. July. 
Ground-Pine. Lycopodium complanatum. Woods. July. 
Club-Moss is used very extensively for Christmas decorations, and 
there is great danger of its extermination. 
Sellaginella apus. Low fields. 
Quillwort. Isoetes lacustris. Quasoponagon meadows. July. 



Common Horsetail. 
Equisetum limosum. 
Equisetum hyemale. 



HORSETAILS. 

Equisetum arvense. Long Hill. March. 
Quasoponagon meadows. June. 
Scouring Rush. Used for scouring pew- 



ter, etc. Nashua River bank. June. 



6 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 



FLOWERS AND PLANTS. 

Flower in the crannied wall, 

I pluck you out of the crannies, 

I hold you here, root and all, in my hand, 

Little flower — but if I could understand 

What you are, root and all, and all in all, 

I should know what God and man is. 

Tennyson. 

Clematis. Virgin's Bower. 

Clematis Virginiana. Common. Roadsides. July 14. 

Anemone. Wind Flower. Anemone Virginiana. Uncommon. 
Roadsides. July 20. 

Wood Anemone. Anemone nemorosa. Common in woods. 
April 18. 

Hepatica. Liver- Leaf. Hepatica triloba. Common. Rocky 
woods. April 2. 

Hepatica acutiloba. Rare. April. 

Rue Anemone. Anemonella thalictroides. Love Lane. July 26. 

Meadow- Rue. Early Meadow- Rue. Thalictrum dioicum. Road- 
sides. May. 

Tall Meadow-Rue. Thalictrum polygamum. Roadsides. May 
29. 

Purple Meadow-Rue. Thalictrum purpurascens. Roadsides. 
June 15. 

White Water-Crowfoot. Ranunculus aquatilis trichophyllus. Ponds. 
June. 

Yellow Water-Crowfoot. Ranunculus multifidus. The Eddy. May. 

Ranunculus septentrionalis. Common in wet places. May. 

Uristly Buttercup. Ranunculus Pennsylvanicus. Common in 
wet places. June. 

Bulbous Crowfoot or Buttercup. Ranunculus bulbosus. Fields and 
pastures. May 1 1. 

Tall Crowfoot or Buttercup. Ranunculus acris. Fields and road- 
sides. May 15. 

Marsh Marigold. Caltha palustris. Wrangling Brook. April 18. 
Prooks and meadows. 

Goldthread. Coptis trifolia. Our woods. May 10. 

Wild Columbine. Aquilegia Canadensis. Rocky pastures. May 17. 

Garden Columbine. Aquilegia vulgaris. Escaped. June. 

Red Baneberry. Actaea spicata. North End. April 20. 



FLORA. 7 

White Baneberry. Actaea alba. Rare. May 15. 

Barberry. Berberis vulgaris. Lowell road. May 15. 

Sweet-Scented Water- Lily. Nymphaea odorata. Ponds and rivers. 
June 20. 

Yellow Pond-Lily. Cow Lily. Spatter-Dock. Nuphar advena. 
Nashua River. Eddy and other ponds. May 10. 

Pitcher- Plant. Side-Saddle Flower. Huntsman's Cup. Sarracenia 
purpurea. Meadows. June 2. 

Blood-Root. Sanguinaria Canadensis. Long Hill. April 16. 

Celandine. Chelidonium majus. Roadsides, damp places. 
May 18. 

Dutchman's Breeches. Dicentra Cucullaria. Our yard. April 10. 

Pale Corydalis. Corydalis glauca. Throne. May 20. 

Common Fumitory. Fumaria officinalis. Waste places. May. 

Horseradish. Nasturtium Armoracia. Moist places. June 30. 

Whitlow-Grass. Draba verna. Rockwood's pasture. April 16. 

Field Mustard. Brassica Sinapistrum. Grain fields. June 1. 

Winter-Cress. Barbarea vulgaris. James's Brook. Mayir. 

Shepherd's Purse. Capsella Bursa- Pastoris. Roadsides. April 20. 

Wild Peppergrass. Lepidium Virginicum. Roadsides. June. 

Wild Radish. Raphanus Raphanistrum. Fields. June 10. 

Rock-Rose. Helianthemum Canadense. Pasture by river. 
June 10. 

Birdfoot Violet. Viola pedata. North End. Sandy soil. May 9. 

Common Blue Violet. Viola palmata. Roadsides and woods. 
April 30. 

Common Blue Violet. Viola curcullata. Roadsides and woods. 
April 30. 

Arrow-Leaved Violet. Viola sagittata. Rockwood's pasture. 
April 20. 

Sweet White Violet. Viola blanda. Wet places. April 29. 

Sweet Violet. Viola odorata. Main Street. Escaped. April 30. 

Viola blanda palustriformis. Wet places. May 3. 

Primrose-Leaved Violet. Viola primulaefolia. Martin's Pond. 
June 1. 

Lance-Leaved Violet. Viola lanceolata. Wet places. May 9. 

Downy Yellow Violet. Viola pubescens. Nashua River bank. 
May 1. 

Dog Violet. Viola canina. Quasoponagon meadows. April 30. 

Heart's-Ease. Johnny-Jump-Up. Viola tricolor. Escaped. May 20. 

Deptford Pink. Dianthus Armeria. Escaped. July. 



8 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

Sweet William. Dianthus barbatus. Escaped. July. 

Bouncing Bet. Soapwort. Saponaria officinalis. Fields and 
roadsides. July 5. 

Bladder Campion. Silena Cucubalus. Fields. July 10. 

Wild Pink. Silena Pennsylvania. Fields. July 3. 

Night-Flowering Catchfly. Silena noctiflora. Fields. July 29. 

Common Chickweed. Stellaria media. Damp places. July 1. 

Long- Leaved Stitchwort. Stellaria longifolia. Damp places. June 5. 

Mouse-Ear Chickweed. Cerastium viscosum. Fields. May 15. 

Field Chickweed. Cerastium arvense. Fields. May 20. 

Sand Spurry. Buda rubra. Roadsides. July 10. 

Purslane. Portulaca oleracea. Cultivated fields. July 5. 

Spring-Beauty. Claytonia Virginica. Rare. May 1. 

St. John's-Wort. Hypericum ellipticum. Wet places. June 20. 

Common St. John's-Wort. Hypericum perforatum. Fields. June 27. 

St. John's-Wort. Hypericum maculatum. Meadows. July 1. 

Orange-Grass. Pine-Weed. Hypericum nudicaule. Sandy road- 
sides. June. 

Small St. John's-Wort. Hypericum mutilum. Quasoponagon 
meadows. June. 

Marsh St. John's-Wort. Elodes campanulata. Swamps. July. 

Common Mallow. Malva rotundifolia. Door-yards and waste places. 
June 6. 

Musk Mallow. Malva moschata. Escaped. July 10. 

Common Flax. Linum usitatissimum. Cultivated fields. August 3. 

Wild Geranium. Wild Cranesbill. Geranium maculatum. Road- 
sides. May 10. 

Herb Robert. Geranium Robertianum. Rare. June. 

Ladies' Sorrel. Yellow Wood Sorrel. Oxalis corniculata. Also 
variety stricta. Fields and roadsides. June 1. 

Common Wood-Sorrel. Oxalis Acetosella. Rare. Wood. June. 

Pale Touch-Me-Not. Jewel-Weed. Impatiens pallida. Wet 
places. July 10. 

Spotted Touch-Me-Not. Impatiens fulva. Roadsides. July. 

Black Alder. Winterberry. Ilex verticillata. Long Hill. May 20. 
Wax-Work. Climbing Bitter-sweet. Celastrus scandens. Love 
Lane. June 10. 

New Jersey Tea. Red-Root. Ceanothus Americanus. North 
End. June 10. 

Northern Fox-Grape. Vitis Labrusca. Nashua River bank. 
June 1. 



FLORA. 9 

Summer Grape. Vitis aestivalis. Nashua River bank. May 15. 

Frost Grape. Vitis cordifolia. Nashua River bank. May 10. 

Virginia Creeper. Woodbine. Ampelopsis quinquefolia. Nashua 
River bank. July 1. 

Fringed Polygala. Polygala paucifolia. Woods. May 5. 

Common Polygala. Polygala sanguinea. Fields. June 20. 

False Indigo. Baptisia tinctoria. Roadsides. July 7. 

Wild Lupine. Lupinus perennis. West Groton Paper Mill. May 24. 

Rabbit-Foot Clover. Stone Clover. Trifolium arvense. Road- 
sides. July 1. 

Red Clover. Trifolium pratense. Fields and roadsides. May 26. 

White Clover. Trifolium repens. Fields and roadsides. May 20. 

Yellow Clover or Hop-Clover. Trifolium agrarium. Fields and 
roadsides. June 3. 

Low Hop-Clover. Trifolium procumbens. Roadsides. July 30. 

Sweet Clover. Yellow Melilot. Melilotus officinalis. Fields and 
roadsides. May 8. 

Sweet White Clover. Melilotus alba. Fields and roadsides. 
June 20. 

Lucerne. Alfalfa. Medicago sativa. Lawrence Playground. 
September 10. 

Black Medick. Medicago lupulina. Broad Meadow. July 1. 

Hoary Pea. Goat's Rue. Tephrosia Virginiana. Chicopee Row. 
June 20. 

Tick-Trefoil. Desmodium nudifiorum. Roadsides. August r. 

Tick-Trefoil. Desmodium acuminatum. Woods. July. 

Desmodium ciliare. July 30. 

Desmodium rotundifolium. Rocky woods. July 28. 

Desmodium Canadense. Roadsides. July 8. 

Bush-Clover. Lespedeza violacea. Red Bridge. August 1. 

Bush-Clover. Lespedeza polystachya. Roadsides. August 1. 

Bush-Clover. Lespedeza procumbens. Roadsides. August 20. 

Bush-Clover. Lespedeza capitata. Roadsides. July. 

Bush-Clover. Lespedeza reticulata. Fields and roadsides. June 31. 

Vetch. Vicia Cracca. Roadsides. August 1. 

Common Vetch or Tare. Vicia sativa. Fields. August 1. 

Wild Bean. Ground-Nut. Apios tuberosa. The Crescent. 
July 30. 

Wild Bean. Phaseolus perennis. Thickets. August. 

Hog Pea-Nut. Amphicarpaea monoica. Damp woods. August 30. 

Wild Senna. Cassia Marilandica. Lower Ayer road. July 20. 



IO NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

Common Meadow- Sweet. Spiraea salicifolia. Quasoponagon 
meadows. June 20. 

Steeple-Bush. Spiraea tomentosa. Pasture by river. July 14. 

Purple Flowering-Raspberry. Rubus odoratus. Rare. July 29. 

Common High Blackberry. Rubus villosus. Thickets. May 7. 

Low Blackberry. 1 >ewberry. Rubus Canadensis. Woods. July. 

Running Swamp-Blackberry. Rubus hispidus. Woods. July. 

Dalibarda repens. Our woods. July 20. 

Avens. Geum album. Quasoponagon meadows. May 25. 

Water Avens. Geum rivale. Quasoponagon meadows. May 20. 

Wild Strawberry. Fragana Virginiana. Fields and meadows. 
April 20. 

F"i\e-Finger. Potentilla arguta. Rockwood's pasture. April 12. 

Silvery Cinque-foil. Potentilla argentea. Red Bridge. June 3. 

Shrubby Cinque-foil. Potentilla fruticosa. Lower Ayer road. 
July 30. 

Three-Toothed Cinque-foil. Potentilla tridentata. Elm Avenue. 
June 10. 

Common Cinque-foil or Five-Finger. Potentilla Canadensis. Fields 
and roadsides. April 30. 

Common Agrimony. Agrimonia Eupatoria. Roadsides. July 1. 

Wild Rose. Rosa blanda. Rockwood's pasture. June 16. 

Carolina Rose. Rosa Carolina. June 20. 

Rosa lucida. June 21. 

Rosa humilis. River pasture. June 15. 

Rosa canina. Red Bridge. June 30. 

Sweetbrier. Eglantine. Rosa rubiginosa. Foot of Long Hill. 
June 28. 

Choke-Berry. Pyrus arbutifolia. Roadsides. May 10. 

Early Saxifrage. Saxifraga Virginiensis. Rockwood's pasture. 
April 18. 

False Mitre-wort. Tiarella cordifolia. Black Pond. May 12. 

Mitre-wort. Bishop's-Cap. Mitella diphylla. Black Pond. 
June 20. 

Wild Black Currant. Ribes floridum. Woods. June 20. 

I >itch Stone-crop. Penthorum sedoides. Ditches. July 30. 

Garden Orpine. Live-for-ever. Aaron's Rod. Pudding Bag. 
Witch's Monev Bag. Blowers. Sedum Telephium. Roadsides. 
July .. 

Round-Leaved Sundew. Drosera rotundifolia. July 17. 

American Sundew. Drosera intermedia. Our woods. June 17. 



FLORA. II 

Deer-Grass. Meadow-Beauty. Rhexia Virginica. Fields. July 

23- 

Swamp Loosestrife. Decodon verticillatus. Quasoponagon 
meadows. August 20. 

Fire-weed. Great Willow-herb. Epilobium angustifolium. Red 
Bridge. June 20. Burned and newly cleared land. 

Fire-weed. Epilobium lineare. Wet bogs. July 30. Newly 
cleared land. 

Fire-weed. Epilobium hirsutum. Burned land. July 3. 

Fire- weed. Epilobium coloratum. Wet places. July 31. 

Common Evening Primrose. Oenothera biennis. Roadsides. 
June 20. 

Oenothera pumila. Roadsides. June 3. 

Sundrops. Oenothera fruticosa. Quasoponagon meadows. 
June 7. 

Meadow-Parsnip. Thaspium aureum. Meadows. May S. 

One-Seeded Bur-Cucumber. Sicyos angulatus. Broad Meadow. 
August 5. 

Carrot. Daucus Carota. Fields and roadsides. June 7. 

Cow-Parsnip. Heracleum lanatum. Quasoponagon meadows. 
June 2. 

Parsnip. Pastinaca sativa. Roadsides and meadows. June 17. 

Water- Parsnip. Sium circutaefolium. Meadows. Wrangling 
Brook. June 19. 

Meadow-Parsnip. Zizia aurea. Meadows. May 1. 

Caraway. Carum Carui. Broad Meadow. June 4. 

Spotted Cowbane. Musquash Root. Beaver Poison. Circuta 
maculata. Elm Avenue. August 2. 

Poison Hemlock. Conium maculatum. Elm Avenue. June 24. 

Sweet Cicely. Osmorrhiza longistylis. Roadsides. June. 

Water Pennywort. Hydrocotyle Americana. James's Brook. 
July 1. 

Wild Sarsaparilla. Aralia nudicaulis. The Grove. May 17. 

Dwarf Ginseng. Aralia trifolia. Our woods. May 9. 

Bunch-Berry. Dwarf Cornel. Cornus Canadensis. Our woods. 
May 26. 

Honeysuckle. Lonicera glauca. Elm Avenue. July 2. 

Bush-Honeysuckle. Diervilla trifida. Roadsides. West Groton. 
June 9. 

Bluets. Innocence. Quaker Lady. Houstonia coerulea. Fields 
and roadsides. April 20. 



12 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

Button-Bush. Cephalanthus occidentalis. Quasoponagon mead- 
ows. July 15. 

Partridge-Berry. Mitchella repens. Pine woods. June 14. 

Cleavers. Goose-Grass. Galium Aparine. Quasoponagon mead- 
ows. July 20. 

Small Bedstraw. Galium trifidum. Meadows. July 13. 

Rough Bedstraw. Galium asprellum. Meadows. June 20. 

Joe-Pye-Weed. Eupatorium purpureum. Quasoponagon mead- 
ows. July 20. 

Thoroughwort. Boneset. Eupatorium perfoliatum. Quasopon- 
agon meadows. August 7. 

White Snake-root. Eupatorium ageratoides. Meadows. August. 

Golden Rod. Solidago squarrosa. Shattuck's corner. August 5. 

Solidago bicolor. Roadsides. August 20. 

Solidago speciosa. Roadsides. August 20. 

Solidago odora. Sweet Golden Rod. Roadsides. August 15. 

Solidago rugosa. Roadsides. August 15. 

Solidago ulmefolia. Fields. August 29. 

Solidago arguta. Roadsides. July 16. 

Solidago juncea. Roadsides. September 2. 

Solidago serotina. Roadsides. August 25. 

Solidago rigida. Roadsides. August 29. 

Solidago lanceolata. Roadsides. August 5. 

Solidago latifolia. Roadsides. August 20. 

Tall White Aster. Aster umbellatus. Roadsides. August 30. 

Aster corymbosus. Red Bridge. August 21. 

New England Aster. Aster Novae- Angliae. Rare. August 1. 

Aster patens. Roadsides. September 3. 

Aster cordifolius. August 30. 

Aster sagittifolius. Roadsides. September 3. 

Aster multiflorus. Roadsides. August 20. 

Aster linariifolius. Roadsides. September 5. 

Aster puniceus. Roadsides. September 5. 

Horse-Weed. Butter-Weed. Erigeron Canadensis. Fields and 
roadsides. May 20. 

Daisy Fleabane. Sweet Scabrious. Erigeron annuus. Fields and 
roadsides. June 3. 

Daisy Fleabane. Erigeron strigosus. Fields. June 3. 

Robin's Plantain. Erigeron bellidifolius. Long Hill. May 21. 

Common Fleabane. Erigeron Philadelphicus. Roadsides. 
June 10. 



FLORA. 13 

Plantain-Leaved Everlasting. Antennaria plantagenifolia. Rock- 
wood's pasture. April 10. 

Pearly Everlasting. Anaphilis margaritacea. Dry hills. July 13. 

Common Everlasting. Gnaphalium polycephalum. River pasture. 
August 1. 

Low Cudweed. Gnaphalium uliginosum. Roadsides. August 2. 

Elecampane. Inula Helenium. Lower Ayer road. July 30. 

Great Ragweed. Ambrosia trifida. River bank. August 1. 

Roman Wormwood. Hog-weed. Ambrosia artemisiaefolia. Every- 
where. August 1. 

Cone-Flower. Black-Eyed Susan. Rudbeckia hirta. Fields. 
June 4. 

Wild Sunflower. Helianthus strumosus. River bank. June 7. 

Wild Sunflower. Helianthus divaricatus. Roadsides. August 1. 

Wild Sunflower. Helianthus decapetalus. Thickets. . August. 

Jerusalem Artichoke. Helianthus tuberosus. North End. June 1. 

Bur-Marigold. Stick-Tight. Common Beggar-Ticks. Bidens fron- 
dosa. Damp places. September 1. 

Swamp Bur-Marigold. Bidens connata. Swamps. August 1. 

Smaller Bur-Marigold. Bidens cernua. Meadows. July 1. 

Larger Bur-Marigold. Bidens chrysanthemoides. Meadows. 
August 15. 

Water Marigold. Bidens Beckii. Meadows. August 10. 

May-Weed. Chamomile. Anthemis Cotula. Roadsides. June 25. 

Common Yarrow. Milfoil. Achillea millefolium. Fields and 
roadsides. July 1. 

White Daisy. Ox-Eye. White-Weed. Chrysanthemum leucan- 
themum. Fields. June 5. 

Common Tansy. Tanacetum vulgare. Roadsides. July 14. 

Common Mugwort. Artemisia vulgaris. August 1. Roadsides. 

Wormwood. Artemisia Absinthium. Roadsides and waste places. 
August 6. 

Golden Ragwort. Squaw-Weed. Senecio aureus. May 20. 

Burdock. Actium Lappa. Waste places. July 12. 

Common Thistle. Cnicus lanceolatus. Roadsides and waste 
places. July 17. 

Swamp Thistle. Cnicus muticus. Pastures. July 20. 

Canada Thistle. Cnicus arvensis. Long Hill. July 1 2. 

Bluebottle. Star-Thistle. Centaurea Cyanus. Waste places. 
July 10. 



14 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

Dwarf Dandelion. Krigia Virginica. Rockwood's pasture. 
April 29. 

Chicory. Succory. Cichorium Intybus. Long Hill. June 28. 

Fall Dandelion. Hawkbit. Leontodon autumnalis. Roadsides. 
June 10. 

I )evil's Paint Brush. Hieracium aurantiacum. Roadsides. Rare. 
Fields. June 25. 

Rattlesnake-Weed. Hieracium venosum. Roadsides. August 1. 

Hieracium scabrum. Roadsides. August 1. 

White Lettuce. Rattlesnake-root. Prenanthes alba. Roadsides. 
August 2. 

Lion's Foot. Gall-of-the-earth. Prenanthes serpentaria. Road- 
side. August 10. 

Tall White Lettuce. Prenanthes altissima. Roadsides. August 20. 

Common Dandelion. Taraxacum officinale. Roadsides and lawns 
everywhere. April 25. 

Wild Lettuce. Lactuca Canadens : s. Roadsides. July 7. 

Common Sow-Thistle. Sonchus oleraceus. Roadsides and waste 
places. August 10. 

Cardinal-flower. Lobelia cardinalis. Nashua River banks and 
Wrangling Brook banks. August 2. 

Lobelia spicata. Elm Avenue. June 10 

Indian Tobacco. Lobelia inflata. Elm Avenue. July 5. 

Marsh Bell Flower. Campanula aparinoides. Quasoponagon 
meadows. August 4. 

Campanula rapunculoides. Roadsides. July 10. 

Black Huckleberry. Gaylussacia resinosa. Duck Swamp. May 10. 
Swamps. 

Dwarf Huckleberry. Vaccinium Pennsylvanicum. Pastures. 
May 1. 

Low Blueberry. Vaccinium vacillans. Dry places. May 5. 

Common Swamp-Blueberry. Vaccinium corymbosum. Pastures. 
May 1. 

Large American Cranberry. Vaccinium macrocarpon. Quaso- 
ponagon meadows. June 10. 

Creeping Snowberry. Chiogenes serpyllifolia. North End. May 
23. Rare. 

Bearberry. Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi. Mr. James Lawrence's woods. 
May 30. Rare. 

May Flower. Trailing Arbutus. Epigaea repans. Pastures. April 1. 



FLORA. 15 

Creeping Wintergreen. Checkerberry. Gaultheria procumbens. 
Woods. July 7. 

Andromeda polifolia. North End. May 20. 

Andromeda ligustrina. Birch Plain. Pastures. July 5. 

Leucothoe racemosa. North End. June 1. 

Leather-Leaf. Cassandra calyculata. Rockwood's pasture. April 12. 

Sheep Laurel. Lambkill. Kalmia angustifolia. Pastures. June 4. 

Pale Laurel. Kalmia glauca. North End. May 27. 

Clammy Azalia. White Swamp-Honeysuckle. Rhododendron 
viscosum. June 17. 

Pinxter Flower. Purple Azalia. Rhododendron nudiflorum. 
Our woods. May 24. 

Rhodora. Rhododendron Rhodora. Pastures. May 20. 

White Alder. Sweet Pepperbush. Clethra alnifolia. Nashua 
River bank. July 22. 

Princes Pine. Chimaphila umbellata. Woods. July 1. 

Spotted Wintergreen. Chimaphila maculata. Black Pond. July 30. 

One-Flowered Pyrola. Moneses grandiflora. Black Pond. June 10. 

Pyrola rotundifolia. Our woods. June 28. 

Shin-Leaf. Pyrola. Pyrola elliptica. Woods. June 28. 

Indian Pipe. Monotropa uniflora. Our woods. July 10. 

Pine-Sap. False Beech-Drops. Monotropa Hypopitys. Mr. 
James Lawrence's woods. June 10. 

Star-flower. Chickweed-Wintergreen. Trientalis Americana. Our 
woods. May 16. 

Steironema ciliatum. Elm Avenue. July 10. 

Four-Leaved Loosestrife. Lysimachia quadrifolia. Elm Avenue. 
July 10. 

Moneywort. Lysimachia nummularia. Damp places. July 1. 

Water Pimpernel. Brook-Weed. Samolus Valerandi. Wet places. 
May 26. 

Dogbane. Indian Hemp. Apocynum cannabinum. Roadsides. 
June 10. 

Butterfly-weed. Pleurisy-root. Asclepias tuberosa. Mr. Charles 
Lawrence's corner. July 13. 

Purple Milkweed. Asclepias purpurascens. Meadows. July 1. 

Common Milkweed. Silkweed. Asclepias Cornuti. Roadsides. 
June 15. 

Swamp Milkweed. Asclepias incarnata. Meadows. July <\, 

Milkweed. Asclepias quadrifolia. Long Hill. June 17. 



1 6 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

Fringed Gentian. Gentiana crinita. Meadows. September 20. 

Closed Gentian. Gentiana Andrewsii. Elm Avenue. August 25. 

Buckbean. Menyanthes trifoliata. North End. May 15. 

Forget-me-not. Myosotis palustris. James's Brook. May 18. 

Common Comfrey. Symphytum officinale. Broad Meadow. May 12. 

Blue-weed. Echium vulgare. Roadsides. June 9. 

Hedge Bindweed. Bracted Bindweed. Convolvulus sepium. 
Nashua River bank. June 25. 

Bindweed. Convolvulus arvensis. Ditches. August 1. 

Dodder. Love Vine. Cuscuta Gronovii. Roadsides. Quaso- 
ponagon meadows. August 8. 

Bittersweet. Solanum Dulcamara. Brooks and river banks. June 4. 

Common Nightshade. Solanum nigrum. Waste places. August 16. 

Common Stramonium. Thorn Apple. Datura Stramonium. Waste 
places. August 16. 

Purple Thorn Apple. Datura Tatula. Waste places. August 16. 

Common Mullein. Verbascum Thapsus. Roadsides. July 1 . 

Moth Mullein. Verbascum Blattaria. Roadsides. July. 

Butter and Eggs. Ramstead. Linaria vulgaris. Roadsides. 
June 27. 

Toadflax. Linaria Canadensis. Roadsides. August 10. 

Turtle-head. Snake-head. Chelone glabra. Quasoponagon mead- 
ows. August 10. 

Monkey-Flower. Mimulus ringens. Meadows. July 20. 

False Pimpernel. Ilysanthes riparia. Nashua River bank. 
August 30. 

Water Speedwell. Veronica Americana. Brooks. June 13. 

Marsh Speedwell. Veronica scutellata. Brooksides. June 4. 

Thyme-Leaved Speedwell. Veronica serpyllifolia. Roadsides. 
May 19. 

Downy False Foxglove. Gerardia flava. Black Pond. August 21. 

Smooth False Foxglove. Gerardia quercifolia. Oak Grove. July 25. 

Purple Gerardia. Gerardia purpurea. Long Hill. Roadsides. 
August 2. 

Gerardia pedicularia. Dry places. July 22. 

Scarlet Painted-Cup. Castilleia coccinea. Chicopee Row. May 20. 

Wood Betony. Pedicularis Canadensis. Meadow. May 7. 

Cow- Wheat. Melampyrum Americanum. Woods. June 27. 

American Squaw-Root. Cancer-Root. Conopholis Americana. 
Woods and roadsides. May 18. Rare. 



FLORA. 17 

One-Flowered Cancer-Root. Naked Broom-Rape. Aphyllon uni- 
florum. Woods and roadsides. June 1. 

Greater Bladderwort. Utricularia vulgaris. Shattuck's intervale 
brook. June 20. 

Smaller Bladderwort. Utricularia minor. Brooks by roadsides. 
June 21. 

White Vervain. Verbena urticaefolia. Roadsides and waste places. 

J^y 7- 

Blue Vervain. Verbena hastata. River banks. August 1 . 

Bastard Pennyroyal. Trichostema dichotomum. Fields. Au- 
gust 6. 

Spearmint. Mentha viridis. James Brook. July 13. 

Peppermint. Mentha piperita. Brooks. August 16. 

Wild Mint. Mentha Canadensis. Meadows. May 10. 

Whorled Mint. Mentha sativa. Meadows. August 30. 

Water Horehound. Lycopus Virginicus. Moist places. August. 

Basil. Mountain Mint. Pycnanthemum muticum. August 2. 

Oswego Tea. Bee-Balm. Monarda didyma. Chicopee Row. 
July 20. 

Catnip (Catmint). Nepeta Cataria. Near houses. July 4. 

Gill-over-the-Ground. Nepeta Glechoma. Near houses. May 1. 

Scutellaria integri folia. Meadows. July 17. 

Mad-Dog Skullcap. Scutellaria lateriflora. Meadows. July 9. 

Scutellaria galericulata. Meadows. June 10. 

Common Motherwort. Leonurus Cardiaca. Waste places, near 
houses. June 16. 

Heal- All. Brunella vulgaris. Roadsides. June 10. 

Common Hemp-Nettle. Galeopsis Tetrahit. Waste places. 
August 1. 

Common Plaintain. Plantago major. Roadsides. June 26. 

English Plantain. Plantago lanceolata. Roadsides. June 28. 

Knavvel. Scleranthus annuus. Waste places. June 25. 

Red Amaranth. Amarantus paniculatus. Waste places. August 2. 

Pigweed. Green Amaranth. Amarantus retroflexus. Fields 
and waste places. August 2. 

Tumble-Weed. Amarantus albus. Fields. August 1. 

Pigweed. Lamb's-Quarters. Chenopodium album. Waste places. 
July 1. 

Garget. Common Poke. Scoke. Phytolacca decandra. Low 
ground. July 7. 



l8 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

Dock. Patience. Rumex patentia. Fields and waste places. 
May 1 6. 

Great Water-Dock. Rumex Britannica. Meadows. August i. 

Curled Dock. Rumex crispus. Waste places. May 30. 

Bitter Dock. Rumex obtusifolius. Waste places. June 9. 

Sheep Sorrel. Rumex Acetosella. Fields and waste places. 
May 16. 

Knotweed. Polygonum aviculare. Waste places. July 10. 

Polygonum amphibium. Mud. July 30. 

Lady's Thumb. Polygonum Persicaria. Damp waste places. July 1. 

Common Smartweed. Water-Pepper. Polygonum Hydropiper. 
Wet places. July 15. 

Halberd-Leaved Tear-Thumb. Polygonium arifolium. Low 
woods. August 10. 

Arrow-Leaved Tear-Thumb. Polygonum sagittatum. Low woods. 
June 12. 

Wild Ginger. Asarabacca. Asarum Canadense. Rocky Hill. May 5. 

Spice-bush. Benjamin-bush. Lindera Benzoin. North End. 
March 30. 

Bastard Toad Flax. Comandra umbellata. North End. May 29. 

Cypress. Spurge. Euphorbia Cyparissias. Roadsides and waste 
places. July 26. 

Hop. Humulus Lupulus. Fields and roadsides. May. 

Wood-Nettle. Laportea Canadensis. Black Pond. July 1. 

Sweet Fern. Myrica asplenifolia. Rockwood's pasture. May 12. 

Wild Hazel-Nut. Corylus Americana. Hedges and roadsides. 
March 23. 

Beaked Hazel-Nut. Corylus rostrata. Our orchard. Rare. 
March 23. 

Hornwort. Ceratophyllum demersum. Wrangling Brook. Nashua 
River. August 1. 

Eel-Grass. Tape Grass. Vallisneria spiralis. Nashua River. 
August 1. 

Coral-Root. Orchid. Corallorhiza innata. Black Pond. May 30. 

Coral-Root. Orchid. Corallorhiza multiflora. Our woods. August 

T 7- 

Ladies' Tresses. Orchid. Spiranthes Romanzoffiana. Black Pond. 
August 1. 

Ladies' Tresses. Spiranthes cernua. Fields. August 20. 

Ladies' Tresses. Spiranthes gracilis. Duck Swamp. July 23. 



FLORA. 19 

Rattlesnake-Plantain. Orchid. Goodyera repens. Black Pond. 
July 10. 

Goodyera pubescens. Duck Pond. July 23. 
Orchid. Arethusa bulbosa. Plains. Rare. June 17. 
Orchid. Callopogon pulchellus. Kezar's Brook meadow. June 17. 
Orchid. Pogonia ophioglossoides. Kezar's Brook meadow. June 1 7. 
Showy Orchis. Orchis spectabilis. Plains. Rare. May 21. 
Green Orchis. Habenaria virescens. Roadsides. July 3. 
Orchid. Habenaria dilatata. Duck Swamp. June 16. 
Habenaria blephariglottis. July 30. 

Ragged Fringed-Orchis. Habenaria lacera. Long Hill. July 30. 
Purple Fringed-Orchis. Habenaria psycodes. Road across 
Kezar's Brook swamp. July 30. 
Habenaria fimbriata. July 30. 

Common Lady's Slipper. Stemless Lady's Slipper. Moccason- 
Flower. Orchid. Cypripedium acaule. Pine woods. May 20. 

Smaller Yellow Lady's Slipper. Cypripedium parviflorum. Woods 
on Nashua bank. Rare. May 10. 

Larger Yellow Lady's Slipper. Cypripedium pubescens. Rare. 
River bank. May 27. 

Showy Lady's Slipper. Cypripedium spectabile. Very rare. July 1. 
Larger Blue Flag. Iris versicolor. Quasoponagon meadows. June 2. 
Slender Blue Flag. Iris prismatica. Meadows. Rare. June 1. 
Blue-Eyed Grass. Sisyrinchium angustifolium. Fields and road- 
sides. June 1. 

Yellow-Star Grass. Hypoxis erecta. Fields. June 10. 
Carrion-flower. Smilax herbaceae. Roadsides. June 12. 
Common Greenbrier. Smilax rotundifolia. Woods. June 20. 
Smaller Solomon's Seal. Polygonatum biflorum. Our woods. 
May 14. 

Great Solomon's Seal. Polygonatum giganteum. Woods and 
meadows. June 3. 

False Solomon's Seal. False Spikenard. Smilacina racemosa. 
Our woods. June 3. 

False Solomon's Seal. Smilacena trifolia. Our woods. May 27. 
Smilacena stellata. Our woods. May 2S. 
Clintonia borealis. Our woods. May 20. 
Oakesia sessilifolia. Roadsides. May 1. 
Uvularia perfoliata. Damp roadsides. May 10. 
Dog's-tooth Violet. Erythronium Americanum. By Nashua 
River. April 25. 



20 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

Wild Orange Red Lily. Wood Lily. Lilium Philadelphicum. 
Elm Avenue. July 5. 

Turk's-Cap Lily. Lilium superbum. Escaped. July 28. 

Wild Yellow Lily. Meadow Lily. Lilium Canadense. Quaso- 
ponagon Meadows. July 3. 

Tiger Lily. Lilium tigrinum. Waste places. July 1. 

Indian Cucumber-Root. Medeola Virginiana. Our woods. June 14. 

Purple Trillium. Birthroot. Trillium erectum. Townsend road. 
Rare. May 12. 

Nodding Trillium. Trillium cernuum. Old road. May 10. 

Painted Trillium. Trillium erythrocarpum. Rare. Our woods. 
May 10. 

American White Hellebore. Indian Poke. Veratrum viride. 
Roadsides. June 1. 

Pickerel-Weed. Pontederia cordata. Quasoponagon meadows. 

July 7- 

Common Spiderwort. Tradescantia Virginica. Long Hill. Es- 
caped. June 19. 

Common Soft Rush. Juncus effusus. Meadow. August 1. 

Common Cat-Tail. Typha latifolia. Meadows. Broad Meadow. 
June 20. 

Bur-Reed. Sparganium eurycarpum. Low land. May 20. 

Jack-in-the-Pulpit. Indian Tumi]). Arisaema triphyllum. Mead- 
ows. May 12. 

Arrow Arum. Peltandra undulata. Wrangling Brook. June 16. 

Water Arum. Wild Calla. Calla palustris. Our woods. May 26. 

Skunk Cabbage. Symplocarpus foetidus. Meadow. Formerly 
blossomed in February, of late years in September. 

Sweet Flag. Calamus. Acorus Calamus. Quasoponagon mead- 
ows. June 10. 

Duckweed. Duck's-Meat. Lemna minor. Ditches on Broad 
Meadow. July 1. 

Water Plantain. Alisma Plantago. Quasoponagon meadows. July 20. 

Arrow-head. Sagittaria variabilis. Brooks. July 15. 

Sagittaria heterophylla. Meadows. August 1. 

Pipewort. Eriocaulon septangulare. Meadows. July 1. 

Pennsylvania Sedge. Carex Pennsylvania. Meadows. April 5. 

Many other Sedges. 

Witch. Couch. Quick Grass. Agropyrum repens. 

Many other Grasses. 



FLORA. 21 



TREES. 



Woodman, spare that tree ! 

Touch not a single bough ! 
In youth it sheltered me, 

And 1 '11 protect it now. 
'T was my forefather's hand 

That placed it near his cot ; 
There, woodman, let it stand, 

Thy axe shall harm it not. 

That old familiar tree, 

Whose glory and renown 
Are spread o'er land and sea — 

And wouldst thou hew it down ? 
Woodman, forbear thy stroke ! 

Cut not its earth-bound ties ; 
Oh, spare that aged oak, 

Now towering to the skies ! 

When but an idle boy, 

I sought its grateful shade ; 
In all their gushing joy 

Here, too, my sisters played. 
My mother kissed me here; 

My father pressed my hand — 
Forgive this foolish tear 

But let that old oak stand. 

My heart-strings round thee cling, 

Close as thy bark, old friend ! 
Here shall the wild-bird sing, 

And still thy branches bend. 
Old tree ! the storm still brave ! 

And, woodman, leave the spot ; 
While I 've a hand to save, 

Thy axe shall harm it not. 

Morris. 

Tulip Tree. Yellow Poplar. Liriodendron Tulipifera. Cultivated, 
Mr. Amory A. Lawrence's. May i. 

Linden. Basswood. Lime Tree. Tilia Americana. Native. 
Roadsides. May i. 



22 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

Ailanthus. Tree of Heaven. Ailanthus glandulosa. Cultivated. 
Mr. G. Shattuck's. June i. 

Holly. Ilex opaca. Cultivated. Mr. Huebner's. June i. 

Horse Chestnut. Aesculus Hippocastanum. Has become native. 
Roadsides. Main Street. May 20. 

Striped Maple. Moosewood. Acer Pennsylvanicum. Roadsides. 
Native. June. 

Sugar Maple. Rock Maple. Acer saccharum. Long Hill. 
Main Street. Native. April 2. 

Silver Maple. Soft Maple. White Maple. Acer saccharinum. 
River bank. Red Bridge. Native. April 1 . 

Red Maple. Swamp Maple. Soft Maple. Acer rubrum. Main 
Street. Native. April. 

Norway Maple. Acer platanoides. Long Hill. Cultivated. 
April. 

Sycamore Maple. Acer pseudoplatanus. Cultivated. May. 

Box Elder. Ash-Leaved Maple. Acer negundo. Cultivated. 
Groton School. April. 

Staghorn Sumach. Rhus typhina. Rocky hills. Native. June 10. 

Smooth Sumach. Rhus glabra. Roadsides. June 20. 

Dwarf Sumach. Rhus capallina. Roadsides. July 10. 

Poison Sumach. Poison Dogwood. Rhus venenata. Our woods. 
June 1. 

Poison Ivy. Poison Oak. Rhus toxicodendron. Main Street. 
River banks. Roadsides. The leaves of this plant closely resemble 
the Woodbine. There need be no confusion if the following rhyme 
is remembered. " Leaves three quickly flee. Berries red, have no 
dread. Berries white, poisonous sight." W. H. Gibson. June. 

Round-Leaved Cornel or Dogwood. Comus circinata. Elm 
Avenue. June 2. 

Silky Cornel. Kinnikinnik. Comus sericea. Frog Pond. June 5. 

Red-osier. Dogwood. Comus stolonifera. Elm Avenue. 
May 30. 

Panicled Cornel. Cornus paniculata. Long Hill. June 1. 

Alternate-Leaved Dogwood. Cornus alternifolia. Elm Avenue. 
May 30. 

Flowering Dogwood. Cornus florida. Lower Ayer road. May. 

Common Elder. Sambucus Canadensis. Red Bridge. June 1. 

Hobble Bush. American Wayfaring Tree. Viburnum lantanoides. 
Chicopee Row. Native. May 10. 



FLORA. 23 

Cranberry-Tree. Viburnum Opulus. Native. Mr. John Parker's 
yard and roadside by Mrs. Amasa Hartwell's. June 10. 

Snow-Ball Tree. Guelder- Rose. Cultivated state of Wild Cran- 
berry-Tree. Cyme turned into sterile flowers. June 1. 

Arrow-Wood. Dockmackie. Viburnum acerifolium. By grove. 
June 9. 

Arrow-Wood. Viburnum dentatum. Long Hill. June 12. 

Withe-Rod. Viburnum cassinoides. Elm Avenue. June 7. 

Sweet Viburnum. Sheep-Berry. Viburnum Lentago. Elm Ave- 
nue. May 20. 

Black Haw. Stag-Bush. Viburnum prunifolium. Our woods. 
May. 

Smoke-Tree. Cotinus cotinoides. Cultivated. Miss Warren's. 
June. 

Locust Acacia. Yellow Locust. Robinia Pseudacacia. Cultivated. 
June. 

Locust. Clammy Locust. Robinia viscosa. Cultivated.- June. 

Bristly Locust. Rose Acacia. Robinia hispida. Escaped from 
cultivation. May. 

Honey Locust. Gladitsia triacanthos. Court Street. Chicopee 
Row. Has become naturalized. May. 

Kentucky Coffee-Tree. Gymnocladus dioicus. Cultivated. 
June. 

Wild Red Cherry. Bird Cherry. Prunus Pennsylvanica. Road- 
sides. May. 

Canada Plum. Red Plum. Prunus nigra. Native. Nashua 
River bank. May. 

Wild Cherry. Choke Cherry. Prunus Virginiana. Roadsides. 
May. 

Black Cherry. Prunus serotina. Roadsides. May. 

Crab-Apple. Pyrus coronaria. Cultivated. May. 

Mountain Ash. Pyrus Americana. Cultivated. Long Hill. 
May. 

Mountain Laurel. Calico Bush. Spoon-Wood. Kalmia latifolia. 
Mr. F. Lawrence Blood's pasture. June 10. 

Cockspur-Thorn. Crataegus Crus galli. Roadsides. May. 

White Thorn. Scarlet Haw. Crataegus coccinea. Roadsides. 
M . 

Black Thorn. Crataegus tomentosa. Roadsides. June. 

Scarlet Haw. Hawthorn. Crataegus mollis. Roadsides. May. 



24 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

Shad- Bush. June Berry. Service Berry. Amelanchier Cana- 
densis. River bank. April. 

Witch Hazel. Hamamelis Virginiana. Our grove. October. 

Rhododendron. Rhododendron maximum. Cultivated. May. 

White Ash. Fraxinus Americana. Native. Roadsides. May. 

Red Ash. Fraxinus Pennsylvanica. Native. Roadsides. May. 

Black Ash. Fraxinus nigra. Native. Roadsides. May. 

Catalpa. Indian Bean. Catalpa catalpa. Cultivated. Mr. Amory 
A. Lawrence's field. June. 

Sassafras. Sassafras sassafras. Our grove. Native. May. 

White Elm. Ulmus Americana. Native. Main Street. March. 

Slippery Elm. Ulmus pubescens. Main Street. Dr. Samuel A. 
Green's yard. Rare. March. 

English Elm. Ulmus campestris. Main Street. Mr. Frank L. 
Blood's. Cultivated. March. 

Hackberry. Celtis occidentalis. Our woods. Native. May. 

White Mulberry. Morris alba. Our orchard. Cultivated. May. 

Sycamore. Buttonvvood. Platanus occidentalis. Chicopee Row. 
Native. May. 

Black Walnut. Juglans nigra. Hollis Street. Native. May. 

Butternut. White Walnut. Juglans cinerea. Our orchard. 
Native. May. 

Bitternut. Swamp Hickory. Hicoria minima. Rocky Hill. 
Native. May. 

Shagbark. Shell Bark Hickory. Hicoria ovata. Native. Elm 
Avenue, Chicopee Row and other roadsides. May. 

Pignut. Hicoria porcina. Rockwood's pasture. Native. May. 

White Birch. Gray Birch. Betula populifolia. Roadsides. Com- 
mon. April. 

Paper Birch. White Birch. Canoe Birch. Betula papyrifera. 
Roadsides. Not very common. April. 

Red Birch. River Birch. Betula nigra. Cultivated. Mr. L. 
Brooks. March. 

Yellow Birch. Betula lutea. Our woods. Native. April. 

Sweet Birch. Black Birch. Betula lenta. Our woods. April. 

Alder. Alnus glutinosa. Common. Roadsides. March. 

Hop Hornbeam. Iron Wood. Ostrya Virginica. Dry banks. 
April. 

Hornbeam Blue Beech. Carpinus Caroliniana. River bank. April. 

White Oak. Quercus alba. Roadsides. Native. May. 



FLORA. 25 

Post Oak. Quercus minor. Roadsides. Native. May. 

Burr-Oak. Massy-Cup Oak. Quercus macrocarpa. May. Rocky 
Hill. Native. 

Chestnut Oak. Quercus prinus. Woods. Native. May. 
Swamp White Oak. Quercus platanoides. Woods. Native. 
May. 

Red Oak. Quercus rubra. Roadsides. Native. May. 
Scarlet Oak. Quercus coccinea. Roadsides. Native. May. 

Black or Yellow Oak. Quercus volutina. Roadsides. Native 
May. 

Pin Oak. Quercus palustris. Swamps. Native. May. 

Bear Oak. Scrub Oak. Quercus ilicifolia. Rocky Hill. Native. 
May. 

Beech. Fagus atropunicea. Roadsides. Native. April. 

Purple or Copper Beech. Cultivated. April. 

Chestnut. Castanea dentata. Mr. L. Brooks. Chestnut Hills. 
Native. June. 

Black Willow. Salix nigra. Native. Roadsides. March. 

Bebb Willow. Salix bebbiana. Native. Roadsides. March." 

Glaucous Willow. Pussy Willow. Salix discolor. Roadsides. 
Native. March. 

White Willow. Yellow Willow. Salix alba. Meadows. Culti- 
vated. March. 

Crack Willow. Salix fragilis. Cultivated. Roadsides. March. 

Spanish Willow. Cultivated. 

Weeping Willow. Salix Babylonica. Cultivated. 

Aspen. Quaking Asp. Populus tremuloides. April. Roadsides. 
Native. 

Large-Toothed Aspen. Populus grandidentata. Native. Road- 
sides. April. 

Swamp Cottonwood. Populus heterophylla. Our woods. Native. 
March. 

Balm-of-Gilead. Tacamahac. Populus balsamifera candicans. 
Native. March. 

Cottonwood. Populus deltoides. Native. March. 

White Poplar. Populus alba. Cultivated. April. 

Lombardy Poplar. Populus nigra italica. Mr. F. L. Blood's yard. 
Cultivated. April. 



26 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 



GYMNOSPERMS. THE PINES. 
Pine. Soft Pine. Pinus Strobus. Common. Native. 



Pinus resinosa. 



Native. 



White 
June. 

Red Pine. Norway Pine. Canadian Pine 
Native. Mr. James Lawrence's woods. June. 

Pitch Pine. Hard Pine. Pinus rigida. Common. 
April. 

Austrian Pine. Pinus laricia Austriaca. Cultivated. 

Scotch Pine. Pinus sylvestris. Cultivated. 

Gray or Northern Scrub Pine. Pinus divaricata. Native. 

White Spruce. Picea rubens. Woods. Native. April. 

Black Spruce. Picea mariana. Woods. Native. May. 

Norway Spruce. Picea excelsa. Cultivated. Roadsides, 

Hemlock. Tsuga Canadensis. Rockwood's pasture. 
April. 

Larch. Larix laricina. Mr. James Lawrence's woods. 
May. 

European Larch. Larix Europaea. Main Street. Cultivated. May. 

Balsam Fir. Abies balsamia. Native. Mr. F. D. Lewis's yard 
May. 

Arborvitae. Thuja occidentalis. Cultivated hedges. May. 

White Cedar. Cypressus thyoides. Woods. Native. April. 

Juniper. Ground Cedar. Juniperus communis. Rockwood's 
pasture. Native. April. 

Red Cedar. Savin. Juniperus Virginiana. Rockwood's pasture. 
Native. April. 



June. 
Native. 

Native. 



FAUNA. 

The Fauna of Groton includes all animal life. We begin 
with the lowest, the Protozoans, one-celled, minute Amoeba 
found in all fresh water. 

The Porifera Branch is doubtless represented by fresh- 
water Sponges, although I have never found them. The 
Coelenterata is represented by the fresh-water Hydra, very 
small in all water. Vermes includes Worms, Hair Snakes, 
Leeches, Earthworms. 

Mollusca — Fresh-water Mussels. Mussel beds are found 
in the Nashua and Squannacook rivers. 

Valuable pearls have been found in those in the Squan- 
nacook. Many kinds of Pond and Land Snails and Slugs. 

The Branch Arthropoda is represented by a great number 
of species : the Cyclops, a very small water-flea ; fresh 
water Cray-fish, Sow-bugs, Spiders, Mites of many varieties, 
Centipedes, Millepedes, and Insects. 

INSECTS AND THEIR RELATIVES. 

There are thousands of species of Insects in Groton, some 
injurious and some beneficial. Beginning with the lowest 
order, Thysanura, are the Bristle Tails ; Silver Moth or Fish 
Moth, Lepisma saccharina, found in closets eating cloth and 
paper; also the Spring Tails or Snow Fleas, Achorutes nivi- 
cola. Swarms of these may be seen covering the snow after 
a thaw. 

The May-flies are in the Ephemerida Order, several species. 
The Odonata Order contains the Dragon-flies ; thirty species 
have been identified. The Plecoptera Order contains the 
Stone-flies, one species. The young are found under stones 
in brooks. The Isoptera Order contains the Termites, or 
White Ants; these are not the real ants and are not very 
common. The Corrodentia Order includes Psocids and 
Book-lice; the latter are the tiny creatures that scurry across 
the pages of old books. The Mallophaga Order contains 



28 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

Bird-lice of many kinds. The Euplexoptera Order — Ear- 
wigs, rare. 

The Orthoptera Order contains the Running Orthoptera, 
Blattidae, or Cockroaches, several kinds; the Walking 
Orthoptera, Phasmidae, Walking Sticks, one kind ; the Jump- 
ing Orthoptera, Acrididae, or Short-horned Grasshoppers, 
several kinds ; Locustidae, Long-horned Grasshoppers, sev- 
eral kinds ; Gryllidae, Crickets, several kinds. The Physopoda 
Order contains Thrips, one kind. The Hemiptera Order con- 
tains Bugs, Lice, Aphids, and others — twenty-five families ot 
Bugs, many species; one family of Lice, and nine of Aphids. 
The Neuroptera Order contains three families, the Dobsons, 
the Aphis Lion, the Ant Lion. 

The Mecoptera Order contains the Scorpion-flies and 
others. The Trichoptera Order contains the Caddice-flies. 
They live in brooks, when immature, decorate their houses 
with sticks, snail shells, pebbles, etc., living inside and drag- 
ging them along with them. 

The Lepidoptera Order contains the Moths, Skippers, and 
Butterflies, a beautiful and interesting order. There are 
thirty-four families of Moths, including many hundred species; 
two families of Skippers, several species; four families of 
Butterflies, including about one hundred species. 

The Diptera Order, the Flies, contains thirty families and 
many species. The Coleoptera Order contains the Beetles, 
a handsome and interesting order, eighty families and eleven 
hundred species. The Hymenoptera Order contains the 
Bees, two families ; Wasps, eight families ; and two families 
of Ants, also Saw-flies, Horn-tails, Gall-flies, Ichneumon-flies, 
and others. This is a very interesting order. The Ichneu- 
mon-flies attract considerable attention, especially the large 
Thalessa lunator. It measures ten inches from tip of an- 
tennae to the tip of its ovipositor. These are the insects which 
are often seen on the maple tree in front of Mr. Torrey's 
store. It is a parasite of a Horntail which places its eggs in- 
side the trunks of trees; the Ichneumon-fly drills a hole into 
the tree near these eggs ; the young of this insect eats the 
larva of the Horntail. 



THE VERTEBRATA. 

The highest branch of Animals is the Vertebrata. This 
includes the following classes : 

Fish — Pisces; Eels — Anquilla ; Salamanders, Frogs, 
Toads, Turtles, — Reptilia; Birds — Aves ; Mammals — 
Mammalia. This last is the highest class, and includes the 
following Orders ; Insectivora, or Insect-Eating Mammals ; 
Chiroptera, or Bats ; Rodentia, or Gnawing Mammals ; Un- 
gulata, or Hoofed Mammals; Carnivora, or Flesh-Eating 
Mammals ; Primates, or Man Family. 

FISH. 

Salmon. Salmo salar. The Landlocked Salmon is very rare in 
Massachusetts, but has been caught in Groton. 

Great Lake Trout. Salmon Trout. Salvelinus namaycush. Badda- 
cook Pond has been stocked with this fish. 

Brook or Speckled Trout. Salvelinus fontinalis. Unquetenassett 
Brook. 

Pickerel. Esox reticulatus. All ponds. 

Mud Minnow. Umbra limi. Soapstone Quarry by Mr. Fred. Howe 
Torre v. 

Common Sucker. Catostomus teres. Quasoponagon meadows. 
Cow Pond. Brooks and meadows. 

Chub Sucker. Erimyson sucetta. Mr. Fred. H. Torrey reports it 
at Baddacook. 

Chub. Roach. Semotilus bullaris. Rivers and ponds. 

Dace. Cousin Trout. Semotilus atromaculatus. Found in brooks. 

Black-Nosed Minnow. Rhinichtys atronasus. Nashua River. 

Long- Nosed Minnow. Rhinichtys cataractae. Nashua River. 

Common Shiner. Redfin. Notropis cornutus. All ponds and rivers. 

Yellow Perch. Perca fluviatilis. All ponds and rivers. 

Black Bass. Micropterus dolomieu. Southern fish transplanted. 
Rivers. 

Sunfish. Bream. Pumpkin Seed. Lepomis gibbosus. All ponds. 

Hornpout. Amiurus rebulosus. All ponds. 

Eel. Anquilla anquilla. All ponds and rivers. 



30 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

REPTILES, ETC. 

Snapping Turtle. Chelydra serpentina. This is found in ponds 
and rivers and grows to be very old, large, and fierce. Some have 
weighed forty pounds and could easily carry a person on their 
backs. 

Wood Turtle. Chelopus insculptus. Rather common. Found in 
woods. 

Musk Turtle. Aromochelys odoratus. This is a rare turtle. 
Found in ditches in the woods. 

Painted Turtle. Chrysemys picta. This is a common turtle, very 
pretty. Found in ponds and ditches. 

Spotted Turtle. Chelopus guttatus. Quite common in ditches. 
Prettily marked. 

Common Box Turtle. Cistudo Carolina. This is a very rare 
turtle. Found in the woods. Our woods. 

Common Lizard. Sceloporus undulatus. I do not remember 
to have found a lizard, but probably have done so and confused it 
with the Salamanders, which it, resembles. Mr. Fred H. Torrey 
reports it from Sandy Pond. 

Rattlesnake. Crotalus horridus. This snake inhabits high, re- 
mote places and is reported from time to time from the Throne, 
Snake Hill, etc. 

Copperhead. Agkistrodon contortrix. 1 have never seen this 
snake. It doubtless has been found here at some time. 

Milk Snake. Spotted Adder. Ophibolus doliatus triangulus. 
Rare. 

Water Snake. Tropianotus sipedon. This is a fierce, common 
snake, ugly looking. Found in ponds and ditches. 

Striped Snake. Garter Snake. Eutainia sirtalis. Common snake. 
Found everywhere. 

Ribbon Snake. Eutainia saurita. Mr. Fred. H. Torrey reports 
this as found in fields. 

Black Snake. Racer. Bascanion constrictor. This is the hand- 
some black snake found everywhere. In the spring many may be 
seen coiled up together in rocky places. They also run from branch 
to branch among the trees, overhead. 

Grass Snake. Leiopeltis vernalis. Found everywhere in the grass. 
Handsome. 

Ground Snake. Carphophiops amoenus. Found everywhere. 



FAUNA. 31 

Ring-Necked Snake. Diadophis punctatus. In grass. Rare. 

Bull Frog. Rana catesbiana. Largest. Deep resounding voice. 
Rivers and ponds. 

Green Frog. Rana clamata. Found in ditches. 

Leopard Frog. Rana virescens. In ponds. First to be heard in 
the spring. Cluck. 

Wood Frog. Rana sylvatica. Common in woods. 

Northern Frog. Rana septentrionalis. Common in ditches. 

Pickerel Frog. Rana palustris. Found in ponds and ditches. 

Cricket Frog. Acris gryllus. Little frog' found in ponds and 
ditches. 

Pickering's Tree Frog. Spring Peepers. Hyla Pickeringii. Found 
in wet places. Shrill, high voices. In the autumn lives in trees. 

Common Tree Toad. Hyla versicolor. Common in ponds in 
spring and trees in summer. Rattles. 

Common Toad. Bufo lentiginosus. Very common everywhere. 
One of the first spring singers. 

Newt. Diemyctylus viridescens. Found in ponds and ditches in 
the spring. Green with red dots. Bright red in the fall. Found 
under stones. 

Striped Salamander. Spelerpes bilineatus. Damp places. 

Red Salamander. Spelerpes ruber. Damp places. 

Red-Backed Salamander. Plethodon erythronotus. Common in 
damp places. 

Spotted Salamander. Amblystoma punctatum. Largest. Com- 
mon under stones. 

These reptiles should not be killed, as they are harmless, useful, 
insect-eatinsr animals. 



32 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

BIRDS — AVES. 
What the Birds Say. 

When light of morning is softly appearing, 

What are the voices we often are hearing, 

As we lie half dreaming and half awake, 

Listening to sounds the sweet birds make ? 

The Whippoorwill first breaks the still quiet hour, 

" Whippoorwill ! Whippoorwill ! " His voice has great power, 

Repeating it over and over again, 

Now quickly, now slowly, a mournful refrain. 

The Goldfinch breaks in with a " Swe-e-et, swe-e-et," 

Then with beautiful notes makes his sweet song complete. 

The Chippy now comes with his " Che-che-che-che ! " 

Not many birds are as early as he. 

•• Phoe'be! Phoebe'! " Hear the imperative call. 

" Come, you don't see me," is heard above all. 

Now the Song Sparrow is singing alone, 

Sweetly and clearly a musical tone. 

Soon hear " Chebeck," 'tis the Flycatcher small, 

Crying " Chebeck" in a querulous call. 

" Witchety ! witchety ! witchety ! witch !" 

Comes from the Yellow Throat down by the ditch. 

" Very early! Very early ! Wake up ! Dilatory!" 

Says Robin Redbreast in all his glory. 

Joining with him is the Oriole heard ; 

c Questions he 's asking of each little bird. 

What voice is this we soon hear so sweet ? 

Broken, 't is generally not half complete, 

When a coarse sudden " Mew ! " banishes doubt, 

For the Catbird sings sweetly, but never without 

Mixing in suddenly here and there 

The cry of the cat in every air. 

Melodious the solo which now arises, 

Tuneful, with many and sudden surprises. 

'Tis the bright Bobolink, that merry fellow, 

With his black vest and coat tinged with yellow. 

He flings his rich notes into the air, 

And warbles away with never a care 

'T is five o'clock ! The sun rises ! Hush! 

List to the wonderful song of the Thrush ! 

High, clear, flutelike, smooth, descending 

Pure, sweet and true to the very ending. 



FAUNA. 33 

Over and over with varying trills, 

All through your soul and being thrills. 

At last 'tis silent ! Then there pours forth again 

Such a wonderful chorus as e'er heard by men; 

Each one singing his own refrain, 

Then all together and over again. 

Thus joyfully through the long summer morn 

In the air the grand chorus of birdsong is born. 

Groton is an interesting and satisfactory hunting ground for 
bird lovers; as it is situated in the Transition Zone, the 
Northern as well as the Southern birds are liable to be seen. 
Naturally a town with many trees and shrubs is well populated 
with birds, as they find their food as well as live among them. 
I have had walks with students from all over Massachusetts, 
members of many outing clubs, and they all agree that Groton 
is an ideal place for bird study. On a rainy day, May 9, 
1900, nineteen different species of Warblers came within view 
from my window, and within one hour thirty-four species of 
birds were identified. Those living on Main Street also have 
a good chance for studying them. During the months of May , 
June, and July of 1909, I heard from my bed in the Groton 
Hospital thirty-six different species. Mr. Ralph Hoffmann, 
a well-known ornithologist, said that the Groton Audubon 
Society was the liveliest and knew the most bird lore of any 
society in the State. 

The following is a list giving date of arrival and departure 
of the Birds: 

Pied-Billed Grebe. Dabchick. Hell Diver. Water Witch. Podi- 
lymbus podiceps. This is often wrongly called a Dipper Duck; it is 
not a duck. Rare migrant, April 1 to November 1. Doubtless breeds 
here occasionally, as I saw them in the Nashua River, July 30, 1901. 

Loon. Great Northern Diver. Gavia imber. About twenty-five 
years ago one was killed on the Squannacook River, is mounted and 
in the possession of Mrs. Walter Tarbell. There is also one in the 
Public Library killed by Mr. William Robinson. Very rare winter 
visitant. 

Little Auk. Ice Bird. Dovekie. Sea Dove. Alle alle. Acci- 
dental visitant. One killed over thirty years ago, on the Squanna- 
cook River. 



34 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

American Merganser. Goosander. Sheldrake. Merganser amer- 
icanus. Accidental visitant. Quasoponagon meadows. December 6, 
1906. 

Mallard. Anas boschas. Transient visitant. Quasoponagon mead- 
ows. April and October. 

Black Duck. Dusky Duck. Anas obscura. Quite common sum- 
mer resident. Quasoponagon meadows. March to December. 

Wood Duck. Aix sponsa. Formerly a common permanent 
resident. Quasoponagon meadows. 

Bufflehead. Butter-ball. Spirit Duck. Charitonetta albeola. 
Transient visitant. Baddacook Pond. November. 

Canada Goose. Branta Canadensis. Common migrant. March 
and December. 

American Bittern. Stake Driver. Thunder Pumper. Marsh Hen. 
Botaurus lentiginosus. Not common. Summer* resident, April 14 to 
November. Almost every evening in the summer this bird may be 
heard " booming " in the Quasoponagon meadows. 

Least Bittern. Ardetta exilis. Not common summer resident, 
Nashua River banks. May 14 to August 20. 

Great Blue Heron. Blue Crane. Ardea herodias. Although this 
is a Heron, it is often called a Crane. Summer resident. Nashua 
River banks. March to November. 

Little Green Heron. Poke. Ardea virescehs. Summer resident. 
May 1 to September. Nashua River banks. 

Black-Crowned Night Heron. Quawk. Nycticorax nycticorax 
naevius. Common summer resident. April 20 to September. Occa- 
sionally in winter. Nashua River banks. 

American Woodcock. Philohela minor. Summer resident. For- 
merly common. Quasoponagon meadows. March 20 to November. 

Wilson's Snipe. English Snipe. Gallinago delicata. Quasoponagon 
meadows. Transient visitant, May 1 and October. 

Least Sandpiper. Meadow Oxeye. Peep. Tringa minutilla. 
Quasoponagon meadows. Transient visitant, May to August. 

Greater Yellow-Legs. Totanus melanoleucus. Accidental visitant. 
Said to have been seen once in Groton in Miss Sears's eddy several 
years ago. 

Solitary Sandpiper. Totanus solitarius. Quasoponagon meadows. 
Transient visitant, May and October. 

Spotted Sandpiper. Actitis macularia. Quasoponagon meadows. 
Common summer resident, April 20 to September. 



FAUNA. 



35 



Bob-White. Quail. Colinus Virginianus. Quasoponagon meadows. 
Once common, now a rare permanent resident. 

Ruffled Grouse. Partridge. Bonasa umbellus. Once a common 
permanent resident, now rare. Woods. 

Pheasant. English Pheasant. Phasianus colchicus. Also Ring- 
Necked Pheasant. Phasianus torquatus. Introduced permanent 
residents. 

Passenger Pigeon. Ectopistes migratorius. Once a common 
transient visitant. Not been seen for many years. 

Mourning Dove. Zenaidura macroura. Summer resident. Often 
mistaken for the Wild or Passenger Pigeon. Quite a large flock seen 
in the summer of 1908. 

Marsh Hawk. Harrier. Circus Hudsonius. Common transient vis- 
itant, a few residents, March 1 2 to November. Quasoponagon meadows. 

Sharp-Shinned Hawk. Accipiter velox. Common transient visitant, 
April 20 to November. This is one of the real Hen Hawks. Quaso- 
ponagon meadows. 

Cooper's Hawk. Accipiter cooperi. Permanent resident. A 
large Hen Hawk. Quasoponagon meadows. 

Hen Hawk. Red-Tailed Hawk. Buteo borealis. Summer resi- 
dent, April to November. Our fields. 

Red-Shouldered Hawk. Hen Hawk. Buteo lineatus. These two 
are not really Hen Hawks, but are often called so. Permanent resi- 
dents. Our fields. 

Broad-Winged Hawk. Buteo latissimus. Rare transient visitant. 
Long Hill. 

American Rough-Legged Hawk. Archibuteo lagopus sancti- 
johannus. Rare transient visitant. Long Hill. 

Golden Eagle. Aquila chrysaetos. Accidental visitant. This 
Eagle has doubtless visited Groton. In September and October of 
1 90 1, I saw two birds, either the young Bald Eagle or the Golden 
Eagle. The only difference being in the feathering of the legs, they 
were not near enough to be distinguished. A Golden Eagle was killed 
in Townsend in that year, so it seems as if these might have been of 
the same species. 

Bald Eagle. Haliaetus leucocephalus. Accidental visitant. I 
have seen these eagles quite often. One lighted once in the top of the 
elm in our yard. August 27, 1903, and May 6, 1901, are two records 
I find. 

Pigeon Hawk. Falco columbarius. Common transient visitant. 
April to October. Quasoponagon meadows. 



36 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

American Sparrow Hawk. Falco sparverius. Summer resident ; 
also in January and November. Our fields. 

American Osprey. Fish Hawk. Pandion haliaeetus carolinensis. 
Transient visitant; often a summer resident, April 10 to September. 
Often seen fishing over the ponds and rivers. 

Long-Eared Owl. Asio wilsonianus. Rare permanent resident. 
Mr. James Lawrence's woods. 

Saw-Whet Owl. Acadian Owl. Nyctala acadica. Winter visitant. 
Mr. James Lawrence's woods. 

Screech Owl. Megascops asio. Common permanent resident. 
Old trees everywhere. 

Great Horned Owl. Bubo virginianus. Quite common perma- 
nent resident. Woods by Nashua River. 

American Hawk Owl. Surnia ulula caparoch. Rare. Accidental 
visitant. December 20, 1904. 

Yellow-Billed Cuckoo. Coccyzus americanus. Common summer 
resident, May 8 to August. Thickets. 

Black-Billed Cuckoo. Coccyzus erythrophthalmus. Common sum- 
mer resident, May 7 to September. Thickets. 

Belted Kingfisher. Ceryle alcyon. Common summer resident, 
April 20 to October. Nashua River. Ponds and streams. 

Hairy Woodpecker. Dryobates villosus. Rare permanent resi- 
dent. Balm of Gilead trees near Red Bridge. 

Downy Woodpecker. Dryobates pubescens. Common permanent 
resident. Holes in birch trees, etc. 

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker. Sphyrapicus varius. Transient visitant, 
April and October. Our elm. 

Pileated Woodpecker. Ceophloeus pileatus. Extremely rare. Seen 
by Mr. Frank D. Lewis on Chicopee Row, May, 1903. Also one 
by Mr. William P. Wharton, near the Red Bridge in 1 910. I saw 
one in June, 1905. 

Red-Headed Woodpecker. Melanerpes erythrocephalus. Formerly 
common, very rare now. October 7, 1904, I saw one at the foot of 
Long Hill. 

Flicker. High-Hole. Yellow Hammer. Golden-Winged Wood- 
pecker. Colaptes auratus. Common summer resident, March to 
November. Everywhere. Our largest common woodpecker. 

Whip-poor-will. Antrostomus vociferus. Common summer resi- 
dent, April 21 to September. Rockwood's pasture. 

Nighthawk. Bull-Bat. Chordeiles virginianus. Common summer 
resident, April 20 to September. 



FAUNA. 37 

Chimney Swift. Often called Chimney Swallow. Chaetura pelagica. 
Common summer resident, April 23 to October. Our chimney. 

Ruby-Throated Humming-Bird. Trochilus colubris. Rather rare 
summer resident, May 15 to September. Our yard. 

Kingbird. Tyrannus tyrannus. Very common summer resident, 
May 7 to September. Orchard. 

Great-Crested Flycatcher. Myiarchus crinitus. Rare summer res- 
ident, May 7 to August 30. Fields near Hazel Grove road. 

Phoebe. Sayornis phoebe. Common summer resident, March 17 
to October 30. Near bridges. 

Olive-Sided Flycatcher. Contopus borealis. Transient visitant, 
May and September. Rare. Our orchard. 

Wood Pewee. Contopus virens. Common summer resident, 
May 13 to September. Woods. 

Yellow- Bellied Flycatcher. Empidonax flaviventris. Rare tran- 
sient visitant, May 9 to October 2. Our orchard. 

Least Flycatcher. Chebec. Empidonax minimus. Common 
summer resident, May 7 to September. Orchards. 

Horned Lark. Shore Lark. Otocoris alpestris. Rare. Winter 
visitant. November. Gibbet Hill. 

Blue Jay. Cyanocitta cristata. Common resident. Everywhere. 

American Crow. Corvus americanus. Common permanent resi- 
dent. A large " Crow-Roost " is situated on the Reedy Meadow 
road. Thousands may be seen here during migrations. 

Bobolink. Reedbird. Ricebird. Dolichonyx oryzivorus. Com- 
mon resident in summer, May 7 to September. Long Hill. Fields. 

Cowbird. Molothrus ater. Common summer resident, March 16 
to October. Pastures. 

Red-Winged Blackbird. Agelaius phoeniceus. Common summer 
resident, March 12 to September. Quasoponagon meadows. 

Meadow Lark. Field Lark. Sturnella magna. Common summer 
resident. Winters often. Long Hill and fields. 

Orchard Oriole. Icterus spurius. Rare summer resident. May 17 
to September. Our orchard. 

Baltimore Oriole. Golden Robin. Hang-Nest. Icterus galbula. 
Common summer resident, May 7 to September. Elm trees. 
Main Street. 

Rusty Blackbird. Scolecophagus carolinus. Common transient 
visitant, April 1 and October. Quasoponagon meadows. 

Bronzed Grackle. Crow-Blackbird. Quiscalus quiscula aeneus. 



38 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS: 

Common summer resident, March 1 to November. Often winters. 
Burying ground. 

Pine Grosbeak. Pinicola enucleator. Common winter visitant, 
October 30 to April 11. Everywhere when common. 

Purple Finch. Carpodacus purpureus. Common permanent resi- 
dent. Orchards. 

House Sparrow. English Sparrow. Passer domesticus. Not very 
common permanent resident. Introduced. Hedges on Main Street. 

American Crossbill. Red Crossbill. Loxia curvirostra minor. Ac- 
cidental winter visitant. December. Pine trees. 

White-Winged Crossbill. Loxia leucoptera. Rare winter visitant. 
December. Pines. 

Redpoll. Acanthus linaria. Common winter visitant, November 
to May. Birches and alders. 

Greater Redpoll. Acanthus linaria rostrata. Rare winter vis- 
itant. Seen once at our window. 

American Goldfinch. Yellow-Bird. Thistle-Bird. Spinus tristis. 
Common permanent resident. Feeds on weeds, especially catnip. 
Our yard. 

Pine Siskin. Pine Finch. Spinus pinus. Winter visitant, Oc- 
tober to April. Weeds, birches, and alders. 

Snowflake. Snow Bunting. Plectrophenax nivalis. Winter visi- 
tant, October to March. Flocks in snowstorms. Never in trees. 

Vesper Sparrow. Bay-Winged Bunting. Poocaetes gramineus. 
Common resident, April 1 1 to October. Fields. 

Savanna Sparrow. Ammodramus sandwichensis savanna. Tran- 
sient visitant, April and October. Fields. 

Grasshopper Sparrow. Yellow-Winged Sparrow. Ammodramus 
savannarum passerinus. Rather common summer resident, May 7 
to September. Long Hill, Chicopee Row. 

Henslow's Sparrow. Ammodramus henslowii. Summer resident, 
rather rare, May to September. Long Hill, Peabody Street. Fitch's 
Bridge. Fields. 

White-Crowned Sparrow. Zonotrichia leucophrys. Uncommon 
transient visitant, May 6 to October 1. Quasoponagon meadows. 

White-Throated Sparrow. Zonotrichia albicollis. Common tran- 
sient visitant, rare resident in summer, April 9 to November. 
Quasoponagon meadows. 

Tree Sparrow. Winter Chippy. Spizella monticola. Common 
winter visitant, November to March. In weed-fields, alders, and 
birches. Everywhere. 



FAUNA. 39 

Chipping Sparrow. Spizella socialis. Abundant summer resident 
everywhere, April 8 to November. 

Field Sparrow. Spizella pusilla. Common summer resident, 
April 14 to November. Fields. 

[unco. Snowbird. Junco hyemalis. Common winter visitant, 
September to April. Bushes by roadsides. 

Song Sparrow. Melospiza fasciata. Common summer resident, 
sometimes winter resident, March 10 to November. Everywhere. 

Swamp Sparrow. Melospiza georgiana. Summer resident, April 15 
to October. Swamps. 

Fox Sparrow. Passerella iliaca. Common transient visitant, March 
13 to November. Roadsides. 

Towhee. Chewink. Pipilo erythrophthalmus. Common summer 
resident, May 1 to October. Bushes on ground. 

Rose-Breasted Grosbeak. Habia ludoviciana. Common summer 
resident, May 4 to September. Main Street. 

Indigo Bird. Passerina cyanea. Common summer resident, 
May 1 1 to October. Roadsides. 

Scarlet Tanager. Piranga erythromelas. May 13 to October. 
Forests. 

Purple Martin. Progne subis. Very rare, once common resident. 
Last seen May 5, 1904. Bird houses. 

Cliff Swallow. Eave Swallow. Petrochelidon lunifrons. Rather 
rare summer resident, May 1 to September. Mr. Z. Fitch's barn 
eaves. 

Barn Swallow. Chelidon erythrogaster. Common summer resi- 
dent, April 19 to September. Barns. 

Tree Swallow. White-Bellied Swallow. Tachycineta bicolor. Com- 
mon summer resident, March 28 to October. In trees and houses. 

Bank Swallow. Clivicola riparia. Common summer resident, 
May 1 to September. Nashua River banks- 

Cedar Waxwing. Cedar-bird. Ampelis cedrorum. Permanent 
resident. Common. Orchards. 

Northern Shrike. Butcher-Bird. Lanius borealis. Winter visitant, 
November to March. 

Red-Eyed Vireo. Vireo olivaceus. Common everywhere. Sum- 
mer resident, May 5 to September. Elms everywhere. 

Philadelphia Vireo. Vireo philadelphicus. Very rare transient 
visitant. Seen once near Blood's lily moat, May 6, 1905. 

Warbling Vireo. Vireo gilvus. Common summer resident, May 8 
to September. Roadsides. 



40 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

Yellow-Throated Vireo. Vireo flavifrons. Common summer resi- 
dent, May 7 to September. High trees. 

Blue-Headed Vireo. Vireo solitarius. Rather rare, transient vis- 
itant, April 25 and October. Woods. 

White- Eyed Vireo. Vireo Noveboracensis. Rare summer resi- 
dent, May 5 to September 13. Quasoponagon meadows. 

Black and White Warbler. Black and White Creeper. Mniotilta 
varia. Common summer resident, April 1 to September. Woods. 

Worm- Eating Warbler. Helmitherus vermivorus. Very rare, 
accidental visitant. One record. Rockwood's pasture. May 20, 
1899. 

Golden-Winged Warbler. Helminthophila chrysoptera. May 9 to 
September. Rare. Thickets. 

Blue-Winged Warbler. Helminthophila pinus. Uncommon tran- 
sient visitant. Sept. 6, 1904. 

Nashville Warbler. Helminthophila ruficapilla. Summer resident, 
May 5 to October. Pastures. Rather common. 

Tennessee Warbler. Helminthophila peregrina. Rare transient 
visitant. One record, April 26, 1908. 

Parula Warbler. Blue Yellow-Backed Warbler. Compsothlypis 
americana. Common transient visitant. Orchards. May 3 and 
September. 

Cape May Warbler. Dendroica tigrina. Rare transient visitant, 
May 18 to September 20. 

Yellow Warbler. Dendroica aestiva. Common summer resident, 
May 1 to October. Orchards and willows. 

Black-Throated Blue Warbler. Dendroica coerulescens. Rather 
common transient visitant, May 12 to September. Orchards. 

Myrtle Warbler. Yellow-Rumped Warbler. Dendroica coronata. 
Common transient visitant, April 20 to September. Roadsides. 

Magnolia Warbler. Black and Yellow Warbler. Dendroica macu- 
losa. Common transient visitant, May 12 and September. Roadsides. 

Chestnut-Sided Warbler. Dendroica pensylvanica. Common sum- 
mer resident, May 6 to September. Thickets by roadsides. 

Bay-Breasted Warbler. Dendroica castanea. Common transient 
visitant, May 10 and September 24. Roadsides. 

Black- Poll Warbler. Dendroica striata. Common transient visitant, 
May 17 and September 14. Trees and shrubs. 

Blackburnian Warbler. Dendroica blackbumiae. Common tran- 
sient visitant and rather rare summer resident, May 9 to September 14. 
Our woods. 



FAUNA. 4 1 

Black-Throated Green Warbler. Dendroica virens. Common sum- 
mer resident, May i to October. Our woods. 

Pine Warbler. Dendroica vigorsii. Common summer resident, 
April 12 to October. Pine woods. 

Palm Warbler. Dendroica palmarum. Uncommon transient vis- 
itant, September 14, 1904. Roadsides. 

Yellow-Palm Warbler. Yellow Redpoll. Dendroica palmarum 
hypochrysea. Common transient visitant, April 12 to October. 
Roadsides. 

Prairie Warbler. Dendroica discolor. Rare summer resident. 
One record, May 14 to October 26, 1901. Pastures. 

Oven-Bird. Golden-Crowned Thrush. Seiurus aurocapillus. Com- 
mon summer resident, May 3 to September. Woods. 

Northern Water-Thrush. Seiurus noveboracensis. Common tran- 
sient visitant, May 9 and September 20. By Wrangling Brook. 

Louisiana Water-Thrush. Seiurus motacilla. Very rare summer 
resident or accidental visitant. Two records, 1905 and 1906. Nashua 
River bank. 

Kentucky Warbler. Geothlypis formosa. Rare accidental vis- 
itant. One record. Our lawn, May 9, 1901. 

Connecticut Warbler. Geothlypis agilis. Transient visitant, Sep- 
tember 20. Rare. Roadsides. 

Maryland Yellow-Throat. Geothlypis trichas. Common summer 
resident, May 3 to October. Thickets. 

Yellow- Breasted Chat. Icteria virens. Very rare accidental visit- 
ant. One record, April 30, 1900. Thicket. 

Wilson's Warbler. Sylvania pusilla. Common transient visitant, 
May 15 to September. Roadsides. 

Canadian Warbler. Sylvania canadensis. Common transient vis- 
itant. Orchards. May 15 and September. 

American Redstart. Setophaga ruticilla. Common summer resi- 
dent. Main Street. May 4 to September. 

American Pipit. Titlark. Anthus pensilvanicus. Rare accidental 
visitant, November 14, 1902. Gibbet Hill and other high open fields. 

Mockingbird. Mimus polyglottus. Rare permanent resident. 
Lowthorpe, 1908. Stone Quarry road. 

Catbird. Galeoscoptes carolinensis. Common summer resident, 
May 5 to October. Thickets. 

Brown Thrasher. Harporhynchus rufus. Common summer resi- 
dent, May 1 to October. Thickets. 



42 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

House Wren. Troglodytes aedon. Once common summer resi- 
dent. Rare now. May to September. Bird houses, fence posts, etc. 

Winter Wren. Troglodytes hiemalis. Transient visitant, April 
and September. Brush. 

Short-Billed Marsh Wren. Cistothorus stellaris. Rare summer res- 
ident, May 20 to September. Quasoponagon meadows. 

Long- Billed Marsh Wren. Cistothorus palustris. Not very com- 
mon resident, May 19 to September. Quasaponagon meadows. 

Brown Creeper. Certhia familiaris americana. Common winter 
visitant, October 27 to March. Tree trunks. 

White-Breasted Nuthatch. Sitta carolinensis. Permanent resident, 
common. Tree trunks. 

Red-Breasted Nuthatch. Sitta canadensis. Rather rare winter 
visitant, October to April. Tree trunks. 

Chickadee. Parus atricapillus. Common permanent resident. 
Birches and alders. 

Golden-Crowned Kinglet. Regulus satrapa. Winter visitant, com- 
mon, September to April. Bushes. 

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet. Regulus calendula. Common transient 
visitant, April 18 to October. Woods and orchards. 

Wood Thrush. Turdus mustelinus. Rather common summer res- 
ident. May 10 to September. Reedy meadow. Black Pond. 

Wilson's Thrush. Veery. Turdus fuscescens. Common summer 
resident, May 6 to September. Quasoponagon meadows. 

Bicknell's Thrush. Turdus aliciae bicknelli. Rare transient visit- 
ant, September 9 and May 14. Long Hill. 

Olive-Backed Thrush. Turdus ustulatus swainsonii. Transient 
visitant, May 1 to October. Roadsides. 

Hermit Thrush. Turdus aonalaschkae pallasii. Common tran- 
sient visitant and, since 1904, quite common summer resident, 
April 1 7 to September 30. Rockwood's pasture. Black Pond. 

American Robin. Robin Redbreast. Merula migratoria. Com- 
mon summer resident, sometimes winter visitant. Everywhere. 
March 5 to November. A Robin roost is in Rockwood's pasture. 

Bluebird. Sialia sialis. Common summer resident, March 1 to 
November. Orchards, roadsides. 

Man-Bird. Aviator biplane. Variety Milling. Very rare transient 
visitant. Sept. 3, 191 1. 

Aviator monoplane. Variety Ovington. Very rare transient vis- 
itant. Sept. 3, 191 1. 



FAUNA. 43 

MAMMALS — MAMMALIA. 

l7isectivora Order — Insect-Eating Mammals. 

Short-Tailed Shrew. Blarina brevicauda. Quasoponagon meadows. 
Common Mole. Scalops aquaticus. Quasoponagon meadows. 
Star-Nosed Mole. Condylura cristata. Quasoponagon meadows. 

Chiroptera Order or Wing-Handed Mammals. 

Hoary Bat. Lasiurus cinereus. Quite rare. 

Red Bat. Lasiurus borealis. The most common Bat. 

Little Brown Bat. Myiotis subulatus. Common. 

Rodent ia Order — Gnawers. 

Flying Squirrels. Sciuropterus volans. The animals are not so rare 
as it might seem, as they are nocturnal. Woods by Nashua River. 

Red Squirrel. Sciurus hudsonicus. Eats young birds and eggs. 
Very common. 

Gray Squirrel. Sciurus carolinensis leucotis. Next to the largest 
and tamest of our Squirrels. Growing more common every year. 

Fox Squirrel. Sciurus niger cinereus. Rare. What is thought to 
be an unusually large Red or Gray is often the Fox Squirrel. I have 
never seen one in Groton, but they have undoubtedly lived here at 
some time. 

Chipmunk. Ground Squirrel. Tamias striatus. Common every- 
where, especially in old stone-walls. 

Woodchuck. Arctomys monax. Common in fields. 

Beaver. Castor canadensis. Very likely more than a hundred years 
ago the beavers built their dams in Groton. The remains of one may 
be seen in the Unquetenassett Brook on Mr. Frank D. Lewis's farm. 
Chicopee Row. 

Muskrat. Fiber zibethicus. Common. Quasoponagon meadows. 

Field Mouse. Microtus pennsylvanicus. Common in fields. 

Deer or White-Footed Mouse. Hesperomys leucopus. More 
common than one might think, as it feeds at night. 

Marsh Rat. Oryzomys palustris. Small. Seen swimming in the 
water. Wrangling Brook. 



44 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

The Jumping Mouse. Zapus hudsonius. Not very common. 
Prettiest and most graceful of any of the animals of this family. It 
hibernates, rolling itself up in a ball with its long tail wound around it. 

Canada Porcupine. Erethizon dorsatus. Rare. My brother shot 
one about twenty-five years ago. A few days ago our dog came in 
with six porcupine quills in his nose, so there must have been or is 
one in this vicinity now. 

Wood Hare. Gray Rabbit. Cotton Tail. Coney. Lepus syl- 
vaticus. The common little brown hare. In woods. 

Varying Hare. Lepus americanus. Rare. 



Hoofed Animals — Ungulata Order. 

American Deer. Dorcelaphus americanus. Largest native animal. 
Quite common. As many as twenty-four have been seen at one time 
together. 

Carnivora Order — Flesh-Eating Mammals. 

Wildcat or Lynx. Lynx rufus. Reported at various times from 
the Throne. 

Red, Black, or Silver Fox. Vulpes pennsylvanica. In rocky 
woods. 

Raccoon. Procyon lotor. Quite common. Woods. 

American Otter. Lutra canadensis. Rare. Wrangling Brook, 
also rivers. 

Common Skunk. Mephitis mephitica. Common. 

Weasel or Ermine. Putorius noveboracensis. Rare. 

Mink. Putorius vison. Rare. 



Primates Order — Man Family. 

The North American Indian. Homo sapiens americanus. Once 
common, no longer indigenous. We have the Indian names left us. 
Indian arrow heads, etc., are often found in the fields on the Nashua 
River banks. The Indian Pump on Mr. Edmund Blood's farm is a 
curious-shaped ledge, with a spring spurting out of it. This location 
seems to be an ancient river bed. 

European Race. There are twenty-two hundred and fifty-three 
specimens of this genus. Imported at various times. Some rare and 
odd species, but more of the common variety. These have driven 



FAUNA. 45 

the native Indian from their homes until they have become extinct 
for many years in these parts. 

Thus endeth the reading of " the Story Book," 

Written for us in Groton, 

Written for us in hedge and brook, 

Stories never to be forgotten. 

Elizabeth Sewall Hill. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF GROTON 

[The following paper was prepared originally for the use of the 
members of the Appalachian Mountain Club, on their visit to Groton, 
Saturday, September iS, 1S86.] 

RIVERS. 

In early times, before the original Plantation had been cut 
up in order to form other towns, the Nashua River flowed 
through the township of Groton for a distance of ten miles 
or more, and nearly bisected its territory; while to-day its 
course within the town's limits is hardly more than three 
miles. This river is formed by the union of two branches, 
known respectively as the North Branch and the South Branch, 
which come together at Lancaster. The former has its 
source in Ashburnham, near the foot of the YVatatuck Moun- 
tain, and in Westminster, and passes through Fitchburg and 
Leominster; while the latter rises, in the neighborhood of 
the Wachusett Mountain, at Princeton, and among the hills 
of Rutland and Holden, and passes through West Boylston 
and Clinton. Both these branches for a considerable distance 
above their confluence are known also as the Nashua. The 
stream at Groton is about one hundred feet above tide-water. 

At a very early period the Nashua River was sometimes 
called the Penacook, and at other times the Groton River. 
In Thomas Noyes's survey of the grant of Major Simon 
Willard's farm in the autumn of 1659, the land is described 
as " lying and being for the most part on the east side of 
Groaten Riuer." And, again, at the session beginning on 
September 6, 1676, the approval of the General Court was 
given to Jonathan Danforth's survey of lands laid out to 
William Hauthorne, "lying in the wilderness; on the North 
of Groaten Riuer at a place called by the Indians Wistequas- 
suck," now within the limits of Townsend. At a later period 
it was more frequently referred to as the Lancaster River ; 
and it is likely that the stream bore different names at differ- 
ent places along its course even at the same time. In the 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF GROTON. 47 

record of " The lands of Mr. Samuell Willard, which is layd 
out to him in the towne of Grotten," on September 29, 1680, 
reference is made to the Nashawag River, — another form of 
spelling. 

The Squannacook River forms the divisional line with 
Shirley for perhaps four miles, which is the whole distance of 
contact with that town. This stream rises in Ashby and flows 
through Townsend and by West Groton, emptying into the 
Nashua. The name is found in the Proprietors' records as 
early as the spring of 1684. 



PONDS. 

Baddacook Pond — lies about two miles east of the village 
near the Lowell road. It covers an area of 103 acres, and is 
the largest pond in the town. It is mentioned in the record 
of James Parker's land under the date of July 6, 1666. 

The water furnished to the town by the Groton Water 
Company comes from the well dug in the immediate neigh- 
borhood of this pond. , 

Outlet : Baddacook Brook, which flows into Cow Pond. 

Brown Pond — a small pond on the road from Fitch's 
Bridge to West Groton, near Wrangling Brook. 

Burnt Meadow Pond — a small pond within the limits of 
Burnt Meadow. 

Cady Pond — a small and deep pond, covering perhaps 
two acres, lying less than a mile from the village in a south- 
easterly direction, near the Boston road. It was named after 
Nicolas Cady, one of the early settlers, who owned land in the 
neighborhood. This pond and Flat Pond, both very small, 
are the only ones in the town whose waters ultimately reach 
the Nashua River, the others flow into the Merrimack. 

Outlet : a small unnamed brook running southwesterly into 
James's Brook. 



48 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

Cow Pond — sometimes called Whitney's Pond, in the east- 
erly part of the town, covering an area of Ji acres. Cow 
Pond Meadow is mentioned in the record of Ralph Reed's 
land before the year 1664. 

Outlet: Cow Pond Brook, which flows into Massapoag 
Pond. 

Duck Pond — near the Ridges, east of Knop's Pond, and 
separated from it by a ridge only — lies perhaps half a mile 
south of Cow Pond. It covers 55 acres, and has no outlet. 

Flat Pond — a small sheet of water near the Throne, in 
the west part of the town. 

Outlet: a small unnamed brook into the Squannacook 
River. 

Forge Pond — in Westford, covering an area of 143 acres. 
In very early times it was called Stony Brook Pond. 

Outlet: Stony Brook, which empties into the Merrimack 
River at North Chelmsford. 

Half-Moon Pond — a sm^ll pond in the upper part of the 
meadow, which lies south of the Hillside Road. 

Knot's Pond — near the Ridges, west of Duck Pond, and 
is of the same size as that pond, covering 55 acres. So called 
from James Knapp, or Knop, an early settler who owned land 
in the neighborhood. 

Outlet: a brook into Cow Pond. 

LONG Pond — lies on the southern border of the town, 
partly in Groton, but mostly in Ayer, covering 45 acres. 
Outlet: a brook into Sandy Pond. 

Martin's Pond — near the foot of Gibbet Hill, on its 
northerly side — covers 16^3 acres; it was named after 
William Martin, an early settler. Before coming to Groton, 
Martin had lived in what is now North Reading, where an- 
other pond was named for him. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF GROTON. 49 

In the record of James Parker's land, on July 6, 1666, " the 
pond called Goodman Martin's Pond " is mentioned. The 
following Article, found in the warrant for the town-meeting 
held on September 17, 1792, seems to show that the outlet 
of the pond was formerly through Hog Swamp and Half- 
Moon Meadow into James's Brook, though there is now no 
other evidence to confirm this view. 

Art. 8. To see if the Town will order the water running from 
Martin's Pond to be turned into the old Channel as it formerly used 
to run, through the Town, and appoint some proper person or per- 
sons to remove the obstructions and Effect the Business. 

In the proceedings of the meeting, it is recorded that this 
Article was " Past in the Negative." A measurement of the 
pond was lately made, when frozen over, which proves it to 
be much smaller than it was a half century ago. 

Outlet: Martin's Pond Brook into the outlet of Knop's 
Pond, half-way between that pond and Cow Pond. 

MASSAPOAG Pond — on the eastern border of the town, but 
lies mostly in Dunstable and Tyngsborough, covering an area 
of 56 acres. It is now used as a storage basin of water by the 
Vale Mills Manufacturing Company of Nashua, New Hamp- 
shire, and in dry seasons it is drawn upon for a supply. 

Outlet: Salmon Brook, which empties into the Merrimack 
River at Nashua. 

Sandy Pond — lying wholly in Ayer, and covering 80 
acres. A large quantity of ice is taken from its surface in the 
winter, the ice-houses on its borders being connected with 
the Fitchburg Railroad by a branch road. 

Outlet : Sandy Pond Brook, which flows into Nonacoicus 
Brook. 

Springy Pond — a small sheet of water connected with 
Knop's Pond by a brook. 

Swan Pond — was formerly a small sheet of water, which 
has now entirely disappeared, and is forgotten by the present 



50 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

inhabitants of the town. It lay north of the road from Groton to 
Forge Village, very near the Westford line, and is represented 
by a piece of low land, out of which a brook runs into Forge 
Pond, which in early times was called Stony Brook Pond. 
This little stream was formerly known as Swan Brook, and is 
referred to in the record of James Knop's land-grant, made 
by John Morse, town-clerk, on January 3, 1669. See "The 
Early Records of Groton " (p. 165). It is also mentioned by 
Captain James Parker, William Lakin and James Knop, in a 
report made by them April 25, 1682, on Jonas Prescott's 
land lying near his mill {ibid. pp. 73, 74). Swan Pond is 
laid down on a manuscript plan of Sergeant John Parker's 
farm " on the South of Groaten Towne," which was made by 
Joseph Danforth, surveyor, in the year 1664. The writing is 
to be found among the Massachusetts Archives, in the first 
volume (p. 31) of "Ancient Plans Grants &c." 

The pond undoubtedly took its name from the swan {C)'S' 
nus ferns), which formerly, at particular seasons, frequented 
this neighborhood. Thomas Morton, in his " New English 
Canaan " (Amsterdam, 1637), writes: — 

And first of the Swanne, because shee is the biggest of all the fowles 
of that Country. There are of them in Merrimack River, and in 
other parts of the country, greate store at the seasons of the yeare 
(P- 67). 

WATTLE'S POND — three miles north of the village, on the 
road to East Pepperell, with no outlet. The origin of the 
name is unknown, but probably it goes back to the time of 
the early settlers. 

Way Pond — In the town-records, as early as the year 
1670, and in the Proprietors records, occasional reference is 
made to Way Pond, a name which has now passed entirely 
out of the public memory. It lay thirty or forty rods south 
of the road to the Ridges, a little less than two and a half 
miles from the First Parish Meeting-house. All that now 
remains of the pond is a mud hole, covering half an acre, 
more or less, through which a brook runs, crossing the 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF GROTON. 5 I 

Boston road near the house of Luther Gilson, — as given on 
Mr. Butler's Map of Groton, from a survey made in the 
years 1828 and 1829, — and emptying into Cow Pond. This 
little stream might well be called Way Pond Brook. 

In this list of ponds I have included two or three which 
now lie wholly in other towns, inasmuch as they are fre- 
quently mentioned in the Groton records. The area of the 
ponds, with the exception of Martin's Pond, is taken from 
the Fourth Annual Report of the State Board of Health of 
Massachusetts (January, 1873), as given on pages 124 and 
125. 

An absurd story is told relative to Massapoag Pond, based 
on tradition, which has no real foundation. It is said that — 

Its outlet was on the easterly side, and as it was the reservoir into 
which Cowpond brook poured its waters, a considerable mill-stream 
issued from it. The waters passed without any rapids for a consid- 
erable distance, affording no favorable site for a mill. The north end 
of the pond was bounded by a ridge of loose sand, rising but little 
above the surface of the water, and being about six rods only in width ; 
on the opposite side of which was a descent of about forty feet. Here, 
then, was an eligible spot for an overshot mill. At a town meeting 
held May 21, 1688, a grant was made to Samuel Adams of a small 
pond near Buck meadow, and leave given to drain it by a brook run- 
ning into " Tyng's cove." At the same meeting, for the encourage- 
ment of any who would set up iron-works at Massapoag, a grant was 
offered of the wood on the easterly side of Unquetenassett brook. It 
is said that Adams, who is supposed to have accepted the grant, 
erected a grist-mill at the site above-mentioned, conducting the water 
across the sand-bank to the flume of his mill. At the time of a flood 
about the year 1700, (the precise time is not known,) a breach was 
made across the sand-bank, and it being very loose and moveable, 
the whole bank was soon torn down by the water to the depth of more 
than thirty feet : and consequently a sheet of water of that depth, where 
the pond was so deep, and where of less depth the whole water upon 
the surface, flowed suddenly off (all in one night,) with irresistible vio- 
lence. The mill of course was demolished, and the stones, though 
diligently sought for, and even the skill of the famous Moll Pitcher, of 
Lynn, employed in the search, have never yet been found. The 
bottom of the pond being uneven, fish in abundance were left in the 



52 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

cavities, which were easily taken, and the inhabitants of the neighbor- 
ing towns, as well as of Groton, came and carried off loads of them. 
Where the water formerly issued from the pond, a small brook now 
runs in, and the outlet is, at the place of disruption, called the " gulf." 
The water finds its way into the old channel, two or three miles from 
the pond, in a north-westerly direction from Dunstable meeting-house. 
(Butler's History of Groton, pp. 246, 247.) 

The name of Buck Meadow, which has been in use for 
more than two centuries, is firmly established, and the site 
well known. The meadow lies near Lovewell's Pond, for- 
merly within the limits of Groton, but now in Nashua ; and 
Adams's mill stood undoubtedly at the outlet of this pond, 
where there is a small water-power. This theory would tally 
with the town-records; and furthermore a tradition is still 
extant that there was once a mill in the neighborhood. Love- 
well's Pond is much smaller than Massapoag, and at that time 
probably had no designation. It was named after Captain 
John Lovewell, who was killed by the Indians on May 8, 1725. 
The following is the entry in the records : — 

May: 21. 168S The inhabitants of Groton Granted to Samull 
Adams y L pond that lyes neare buck medow which hath its outlet 
into the medow known by y" name of Tyngs Couee and the swampy 
land adioyeng ther to prouided y e sd land do not exceed fifteen 

accers ; 

atest; Josiah Parker Clarke 

and sd adams hath liberty to drean the s' 1 pond at y v small brook that 

unes in to Tyng's Coue prouided sd Adames macks good all dameges 

that shall be don ther by 

There are now three small brooks running into Massapoag 
Pond on the easterly side, and their fall is too great for any 
one of them ever to have been the old outlet of the pond. 
Furthermore, it would have been impossible by any of these 
brooks to drain the pond (which even at the present time 
covers 56 acres) without causing too great damage for Adams 
to make good. There is no indication along their banks that 
they have been much larger streams than they are to-day. 
While the formation of the banks at the mouth of the pond, 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF GROTON. 53 

or the " gulf," so called, is peculiar, there are no signs that 
the water-line was ever any higher than it is at the present 
time. None of the local antiquaries is able to identify 
Tyng's Cove, which is a name undoubtedly derived from 
Jonathan Tyng, one of the earliest settlers of Dunstable. 

At the same town-meeting, held on May 21, 1688, the 
inhabitants of Groton — 

deed then by the raaior uoat grant for the incoregment of such 
men as will set up Ioran works at masabog pond ; that thay shall 
haue y e ues & improument of the woods and timbr y l is now com- 
mon one the est sid of uncuttanaset brook and so to nashua riuer 
and groton line est ward & south ward to good man greens 
masabog medow. . . . 

I give this extract from the town-records in order to show 
that the inhabitants at that period knew the pond by its 
present name ; and if they had seen fit then to grant Adams 
any special privilege connected with it, they would have 
called it " Massapoag," and would not have said " y e pond 
that lyes neare buck medow." 



HILLS. 

Barralock Hill — is mentioned in the record of Samuel 
Woods's lands. It is the hill due north of Baddacook Pond. 

Brown Loaf Hill — commonly called Brown Loaf — is 
a handsome, symmetrical hill standing alone, more than a mile 
from the village, near the Lowell road. Brown Loaf Hill 
Meadow is mentioned in the description of Joseph Parker's 
lands, December 2, 1664, which would imply that the hill was 
so named before that time. Brown Loaf Hill is also men- 
tioned in the record of James Parker's lands made on July 6, 
1666; and Brownloafe Playne and Brownloaf Hill are given 
in the record of James Fisk's lands in John Morse's hand- 
writing, of which the date is absent, but which was certainly 
made at a very early period. 



54 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

CHESTNUT HILLS — the range lying northerly of Martin's 
Pond ; so called from the abundant growth of chestnut-trees 
on its sides, and now owned by Lawrence Brooks. The high- 
est elevation in town. 

Clay-Pit Hill — the small hill at the corner of the East 
Pepperell road and Break Neck. 

Gibbet Hill — a noted landmark, overlooking the village 
on its easterly side. It is mentioned in the land-grant of 
Sergeant James Parker, which was entered in the town- 
records by Richard Sawtell, the first town-clerk who filled 
the office, from June, 1662, to January, 1664-65. An unlikely 
tradition is that the hill was so called from the fact that once an 
Indian was gibbeted on its top. If this ever occurred, it must 
have happened before Sawtell's term of office. The town was 
incorporated by the General Court on May 25, 1655, but no 
public records are known to have been kept before June 23, 
1662. 

Horse Hill — in the eastern part of the town, near Massa- 
poag Pond. It lies partly in Dunstable, and is covered with 
woods. 

Indian Hill, or Hills — the range beginning near James's 
Brook, a mile south of the village, and running in an easterly 
direction on the south side of the Great Road to Boston. 

Long Hill — leading westerly from Farmers' Row down 
toward the Red Bridge. 

NAUMOX — a low hill or ridge a short distance west of the 
road to East Pepperell, near the Longley monument, and 
running parallel with the road. The name is said to be that 
of an Indian chief, and is also used in connection with the 
neighborhood. 

PROSPECT Hill — very near Cady Pond, and east of it. 

Ridge Hill, or The Ridges — the name of a peculiar 
ridge, three miles southeasterly from the village, along which 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF GROTON. 55 

the Great Road runs. It also gave the name to a tavern for- 
merly kept in the immediate neighborhood. 

Rocky Hill — there are two hills of this name, one lying 
northeasterly of Baddacook Pond, near the old District School- 
house No. VIII. (now the Trowbridge School), which is also 
known as the Rocky Hill School ; and the other situated in 
the southeast part of the town, between Long Pond and the 
Ridges. A visit to either of these hills will show why it was 
so called. 

Sand Hill — a small elevation on the road to East Pep- 
perell, below the Longley monument, near the place where 
the Nashua road branches off. 

SHEPLEY Hill — lies west of the East Pepperell road, near 
Naumox. The name is rarely heard now, though it was in 
use as far back as February 28, 1670, — evidently so called 
from the Shepley family. 

SNAKE HILL — in the south part of the town, but lies 
mostly in Ayer. Rattlesnakes have been killed on it within 
the memory of the present generation. 

The Throne — a high hill in the western part of the town, 
— on the summit of which is a level field of perhaps sixty 
acres, containing a small pond, — near the Townsend line. 
A map of Groton resembles a tea-kettle, the portion west of 
the Nashua River forming the spout ; and the Throne comes 
in the spout. 



MEADOWS. 

The early settlers of Groton, according to the town-records, 
had many parcels of meadow allotted to them in the assign- 
ment of land. Sergeant James Parker owned in twenty differ- 
ent meadows, and the other settlers also were large owners. 
It is probable that they did not attach the same signification 
to the word " meadow " which now belongs to it in New Eng- 
land, where it means low, swampy land, without regard to the 



56 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

mowing. They called by this name all grass-land that was 
annually mown for hay, and especially that by the side of 
a river or brook ; and this meaning of the word was and still is 
the common one in England, whence they brought their lan- 
guage. They sometimes spoke of a " swamp," meaning by it 
what we call a " bog ; " but much of this kind of land has since 
been reclaimed, and is known with us as " meadow." As a mat- 
ter of fact it happened that the lands which could be mown 
for the fodder were low lands, and it would require perhaps 
less than a generation to transfer the meaning of mowing 
lands to the low lands, which were nearly the only ones that 
could be mown in the early days of the Colony. This expla- 
nation will make clear the following vote of the town, passed 
on February 18, 1680-81 : — 

At the same meeting it was agreed vpon and voted that M r Hub- 
berd [Hobart the minister] should haue all the coilion which was 
capable to mak medow in swan pond medow vp to the vpland for 
seauen acre and a halfe for to mak vp his fifteen acres of medow 

The following names of meadows are found in the town- 
records, and in a few instances I have indicated their locality: 

Accident; Angle, in the northerly part of the town; Big 
Spring, in the neighborhood of Hawtree Brook; Broad, imme- 
diately west of the village ; Brook ; Brown Loaf, east of the 
hill; Buck, now lying within the limits of Nashua, New 
Hampshire ; Burnt, east of the highway running from the 
Lowell road to the Rocky Hill school ; Cow Pond, near the 
pond of that name ; East ; Ferney, near Brown Loaf; Flaggy, 
to the southward of the Baddacook road, near the pond ; 
Flax ; Great Flaggy, presumably near Flaggy, and perhaps 
the same; Great Half-Moon, the same as Half-Moon, which 
lies east of the village ; Little Buck, probably a part of Buck 
Meadow; Little Half-Moon, a part of Half-Moon, being an 
offshoot from it; Lodge; Long; Maple; Massapoag, evi- 
dently near Massapoag Pond ; New Angle ; Pine ; Plain ; 
Pretty ; Providence ; Quasoponagon, " on the other sid of the 
riuer," near the Red Bridge, through which Wrangling Brook 
runs; Reedy, known by this name to-day, lying north of the 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF GROTON. 57 

Reedy Meadow Road ; Rock, south of Snake Mill ; Sallo, per- 
haps Sallow, a kind of willow ; Sedge ; Skull, through which 
Unquetenassett Brook runs, near the Dunstable line; Sledge, 
north of Reedy Meadow, near the Sledges ; South ; South 
Brook; Spang; Spot; Spring; Spruce; Swamp; Swan Pond ; 
and Weavers. 

In the record of Daniel Pearse's land, by William Longley, 
town-clerk, on July 6, 1666, reference is made to "the iland 
lying within the meadow called Litle Halfe Moone Meadow." 
This land formerly belonged to Governor Boutwell ; and I 
was told by his son, the late Francis M. Boutwell, Esq., that 
there is upon it a small elevation, which is always spoken of 
as the island, — undoubtedly a survival of the expression ap- 
plied to it when more or less surrounded by water. 



BROOKS. 

Cold Spring Brook — a small brook, rising in Cold 
Spring " on y e Left hand of the high way that goe to Reedy 
meadow." It runs across the Nashua road, the East Pep- 
perell road, through Hazen Swamp and Libby Lobby Moat, 
into the Nashua River. 

Cow Pond Brook — has its source in Cow Pond Meadows 
and Cow Pond, and empties into Massapoag Pond. Formerly 
there was a dam between the meadows and the pond, where 
there was a saw-mill ; and, later, on the same site a paper-mill, 
which was taken down about fifty years ago. 

Gift Brook — in the north part of the town, rises in Gift 
Meadow, crosses Chicopee Row near James Bennett's house 
— as laid down on Mr. Butler's Map — and empties into 
Unquetenassett Brook. 

James's Brook — one of the longest brooks within the 
limits of the town. It takes its rise in Half-Moon Meadow, 
crosses Main Street in the village, and runs southerly and 



58 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

westerly for three or four miles into the Nashua River. At 
its mouth is the beginning of the line separating the town 
of Ayer from Groton. Formerly there was a tannery on the 
banks of the brook, near Indian Hill, known as Dix's tan- 
nery ; and a mile below, on land of the late Benjamin Moors, 
east of the road, at one time there was a mill, — but now no 
traces of either are left, beyond signs of the mill-site. It 
empties into the Nashua River, nearly opposite to the mouth 
of the Squannacook. 

I [AWTREE BROOK — in the northerly part of the town, near 
Chicopee Row; after it unites with Walnut Run and two 
or three other small streams, it forms Unquetenassett Brook. 
In the early records of the town the Hawtrees are frequently 
spoken of, which refer to the neighborhood of this brook. 

Nod Brook — rises near the Soapstone Quarry, crosses 
the Nod road and runs into the Nashua River. 

NONACOICUS BROOK — frequently contracted into Coicus 
— was formerly a noted stream in Groton ; but now no part 
of it comes within the limits of the town. It has its source 
in Harvard, and runs northerly and then westerly, passing 
through the village of Ayer, and emptying into the Nashua. 
It receives, as a tributary, Sandy Pond Brook. On this stream 
John Prescott, about the year 1667, built his mill for grinding 
and sawing, of which the site was originally in Groton, but 
now is in Harvard. The neighborhood is still called the Old 
Mill. 

Reedy Meadow Brook — rises in Reedy Meadow and 
flows northerly, emptying into the Nashua River below East 
Pepperell. It is sometimes called Johnson's Brook. 

Sandy Pond Brook — wholly in Ayer, the outlet of Sandy 
Pond, flowing into Nonacoicus Brook. 

Sedge Brook — a small brook from Sedge Meadow, run- 
ning into Reedy Meadow Brook. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF GROTON. 59 

Stony Brook — in Westford, the outlet of Forge Pond. 
It was on this stream that John Prescott built a mill about 
the year 1683. See "The Early Records of Groton " under 
the dates of June 15, 1680, June 13, 1681, and April 25, 1682, 
also the agreement following the record of the meeting held 
on June 25, 1683. 

Swan BROOK — was the brook near the divisional line 
between Groton and Westford, which flows into Forge Pond. 
See the entry of James Knop's lands, made on January 3, 
1669, in "The Early Records of Groton." 

TUITY BROOK — contracted from Gratuity — a very small 
stream which rises near the head of Farmers' Row and runs 
through Hazle Grove into the Nashua River below Fitch's 
Bridge. 

Unquetenassett Brook — often called Unkety — a 
stream formed by the union of Walnut Run, Hawtree Brook, 
and one or two small tributaries, and running northerly 
through Skull Meadow and that part of Dunstable formerly 
Groton, into the Nashua. 

Walnut Run — a brook issuing from the sides of the 
Chestnut Hills, and uniting with Hawtree Brook and one or 
two other streams, forms the Unquetenassett. 

Also the name of a place — perhaps it was the mouth of a 
stream — on the Nashua River where in olden times there 
was a bridge. It stood further up the river than Fitch's 
Bridge. 

Wrangling Brook — in West Groton, a mile and a half 
in length — meanders through Quasoponagon Meadow, and 
then empties into the Nashua a short distance below the Red 
Bridge. Miss Hill lives near this brook, which accounts for 
the frequent mention of the Quasoponagon meadow. 



60 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

ROADS. 

BADDACOOK POND Road — a continuation of the Martin's 
Pond Road to the neighborhood of the pond. 

BREAK NECK — the short strip of road from the East Pep- 
perell Road to Common Street, south of the soapstone quarry. 

CillCOPEE ROW, or ROAD — running north for three miles 
from the Cemetery. This district is known as Chicopee, a 
name given long ago. 

FARMERS' Row. — applied to the road on the height of 
land west of the village. It begins at the west end of Pleasant 
Street and runs in a southerly direction for two miles, passing 
by the Groton School. It has been so called since the eight- 
eenth century, according to the testimony of my own family 
who have lived there for many years. 

GREAT Road — one of the principal thoroughfares between 
Boston and parts of New Hampshire and Vermont. The sec- 
tion of the road through the village is known as Main Street. 

Hillside Road — the highway along the southern slope 
of the Indian Hills. 

Love Lane — the highway from the Lowell road, near the 
First Parish Meeting-house, to the Great Road near Cady 
Pond. 

Martin's Pond Road — the highway from the site of the 
first meeting-house to the neighborhood of the pond, where 
it becomes the Baddacook Pond Road. 

REEDY Meadow Road — from the Nashua Road to Chico- 
pee Row, immediately south of Reedy Meadow. 

SQUASH Path — through the woods from the East Pep- 
perell road to the Nashua road — a short distance beyond 
Cold Spring Brook. Perhaps the name is an abbreviation of 
musquash. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF GROTON. 6l 

TuiTY Road — a contraction of Gratuity Road — the road 
leading to Fitch's Bridge from the Great Road near the Rail- 
road Bridge, half a mile north of the village. The name had 
its origin in the early history of the town, when grants of land 
were made to the inhabitants as gratuities. Tuity Brook, a 
very small stream, crosses this road and empties into the 
Nashua River, below Fitch's Bridge. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 

Blood's FORDWAY — near the covered bridge in East 
Pepperell, which is often called Jewett's Bridge. 

Brickyard — on the north side of the Great Road, about 
a mile from the First Parish Meeting-house. It was much 
used during the last century; and probably was the place 
where the bricks were made for the parsonage, as mentioned 
in the town-records, June 20, 1706. Only a few traces of it 
are now left, though a clump of elms by the roadside is a 
good guide to the site. 

Brown Loaf Plain — to the west of Brown Loaf. 

Community — the name of a district or neighborhood be- 
yond the Groton School, where many of the residents for- 
merly held similar religious views. It had its origin about 
sixty years ago, when the Second Adventists, or " Millerites," 
gave up their regular services in the village. See Edward 
A. Richardson's pamphlet on "The Community " (1911)- 

Dead RIVER — the old course of the Nashua River, around 
the island which was formed by the cutting through of the 
"neck." See page ic8 of this book. 

DEEr Soil — in the neighborhood of the race-course, in 
Hazle Grove ; so called on the Incus a non hicendo principle. 

Fitch's Bridge — over the Nashua River, a mile and a 
quarter below the Red Bridge. 



62 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

General Field — often mentioned in the early town- 
records, refers to land owned in severalty by the proprietors 
of Groton, who kept it as one field, for reasons not now under- 
stood. It was upland, and lay in the southwest part of the 
town, near the river. It appears to have been allotted to the 
proprietors, according to the number of acre-rights which 
each one owned. Perhaps it was land already cleared when 
the first settlers came. 

Tin: Gift — a. parcel of land near Reedy Meadow, not 
distinctly identified. 

Till-: HAWTREES — mentioned several times in the early 
records, and referring, doubtless, to some native shrubs or 
trees ; for instance, Zachery Sawtell had meadow-land " Neare 
the hawtrees " confirmed to him on November 18, 1670. It 
evidently became the name of a limited district or neighbor- 
hood in the north part of the town, and from it undoubtedly 
Hawtree Brook was named. Professor Asa Gray, the dis- 
tinguished botanist, wrote me many years ago that there were 
three or four species of wild hawthorn in Massachusetts. 
He says: "One of the forms of the Black or Pear Thorn 
(Cratcegtts tomentosd) would be the likeliest for Groton, or 
perhaps the Cockspur Thorn. The former has the more 
edible fruit, and would be sure to attract attention." 

HAZEN SWAMP — near the mouth of Cold Spring Brook. 

1 1 axle Grove — the neighborhood of the east bank of the 
Nashua River above Fitch's Bridge. The Groton Farmers' 
and Mechanics' Club owns a tract of land in this Grove, where 
it holds annual exhibitions. Its display of fruit, flowers and 
vegetables, with that of its horses, cows and poultry, is some- 
what famous in the towns around. 

HrCKS's HOLE — a small piece of meadow, lying north of 
Reedy Meadow. 

High Plain — on the north side of the Baddacook road, 
in the neighborhood of the pond. It lies in the angle of the 
roads, west of the house of John Johnson, Jr., as laid down on 
the map of Groton, made from a survey during the years 1828 
and 1S29. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF GROTON. 63 

Hog Swamp — lying between the westerly side of Martin's 
Pond and Martin's Pond Road. Mr. Lawrence Brooks's pri- 
vate way to his house and the Chestnut Hills passes through it. 

Hovt's Wharf — the name of a place on Cow Pond Brook 
where one Hoyt formerly kept his boat. It was near the 
house of Samuel Hazen, — as laid down on Mr. Butler's map 
of Groton, made from a survey during the years 1828 and 
1829, — nearly a mile north of Cow Pond. 

The Island — a small, though prominent, hill in the 
meadow south of Hillside Road ; undoubtedly once sur- 
rounded by water. 

Jamaica — the name of a small patch of meadow behind 
the hills on the west side of Chicopee Row. 

Libby LOBBY MOAT — below the Ox Bow, opening into 
the Nashua River. This word is probably another form of 
Loblolly, in use at the South, and denoting wet land. 

Lily Moat — on the east side of the Nashua and south 
of the road, near the Red Bridge. 

Madagascar — the name of the district where the paper- 
mill formerly stood on the brook, between Cow Pond and 
Knop's Pond. 

Nod — the district lying in the neighborhood of the four 
corners, below the soapstone quarry. The road from the 
Hollingsworth Paper-mills to this place is called the Nod 
Road. 

Ox Bow — the bend of the Nashua River, in the northerly 
part of the town, below the Lawrence pasture. 

PAUGUS Hole — in Paugus Brook, on the west side of 
Brown Loaf, where, it is said, the body of Paugus's descend- 
ant, who came to kill Chamberlain, was sunk, after he himself 
was killed. 

Pine Plain — probably near the Nashua River, and on the 
westerly side. In December, 1673, Joseph Morse had 
meadow-lands on the Pine Plain, " neare the fordway. " 



64 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

Punch Bowl — one of several natural depressions near 
the Lowell road, below Brown Loaf. The name is also ap- 
plied to the district or neighborhood. 

RED BRIDGE — over the Nashua River, on the road to 
West Groton. 

SLEDGES — the name of a meadow northeast of Reedy 
Meadow, mentioned in the early records, where John Lakin 
owned land. Mr. Butler, in his History (p. 273), says that 
" this word seems to signify strips of meadow or parcels of 
low lands abounding in iron ore." Bog-iron is found in that 
quarter of the town, and in old times was worked by a com- 
pany formed for that purpose. 

Sodom — the district in the northeast part of the town, 
near the Townsend line. The name refers to the quality of 
the soil, and not to the character of the inhabitants. 

SQUANNACOOK — an Indian word, the old name of the 
village of West Groton. 

Stony Fordway, or Wading-Place — near the site of the 
Hollingsworth Paper-mills, on the Nashua River, a mile and 
a half northwesterly of the village. 

Swill Bridge — was between the homesteads of Eber 
Woods, Jr., and Joel Davis, — as given on Mr. Butler's map 
of Groton, from a survey made in the years 1828 and 1829, — 
a short distance west of the present railroad bridge. Origi- 
nally it was a causeway, perhaps twenty rods in length, over 
the southerly end of Broad Meadow, though now it is a solid 
road. 

Thomas Tarbell's Fordway — was between where the 
Red Bridge now stands, and Fitch's Bridge, which is a mile 
and a quarter below. 

Tobacco Pipe Plain — on both sides of the road from the 
Ridges to Sandy Pond, near Rocky Hill. It is mentioned in 
the " Bye-Laws of Groton relative to Schools; and Instruc- 
tions of the School Committee, 1805," and in old deeds. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF GROTON. 65 

CULTIVATION OF HOPS. 

Groton, July 13, 1S97. 
Dr. Samuel A. Green, Boston: 

Dear Sir, — -My reply to your inquiry as to the culture of hops 
in the northwestern part of Middlesex County and the northeastern 
part of Worcester County during the first half of this century, 
must, in the nature of the case, be brief and imperfect. I can 
only conjecture the time when the cultivation of hops there began, 
but the probability is very strong that it was during the last decade 
of the last century. My grandfather, Jacob Marshall, who lived in 
Lunenburg, was a hop raiser, and his experience in that business 
must have been as early as the first part of the present century. He 
was the inventor of the press for pressing hops, which was after- 
ward and almost immediately used for pressing cotton also. 

The power for pressing hops, used by him and used in that dis- 
trict as long as hops were raised, was the screw as applied in a 
common cider mill. The hop vine was trained, or trained itself, 
perhaps, on poles, which in the culture were from two to four 
inches in diameter at the base and fourteen to fifteen feet in length. 
The hills in the field were set at a distance of perhaps five feet 
apart, and averaged about one thousand to an acre. 

The picking commenced usually in the last week of August, and 
continued often until far into the first half of September. The 
vines were cut and the poles taken out of the ground by men and 
laid upon long bins sufficient to receive the entire length of the 
vine, which was usually not less than twelve feet. The picking was 
done by young people, boys and girls, who stood on each side of 
the bin. 

The product from one acre was about 1,000 pounds, or a pound 
to a hill, of dry hops. The drying was carried on in a building 
erected for the purpose, the hops being laid over lattice-work on 
the floor ; and a fire of charcoal underneath furnished the heat for 
drying. This process was a delicate one, as it was necessary to 
extract all the moisture from the hops and to avoid scorching, as 
that injured the value in the market. 

In the period of time when I had some knowledge of the trade 
in hops, say from 1836 to 1846, the price varied from $10 or $12 to 
$50 per bale, of about 200 pounds. The product of an acre in 
money, therefore, never exceeded about $250, and more frequently 



66 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF CROTON, MASS. 

the price was about 10 cents a pound or $20 a bale, which gave to 
the grower about $100 as the gross return per acre. This extreme 
variation in prices led to speculation in hops both by the growers 
and the traders Sometimes a farmer would hold his crop, when it 
could have been sold at 12 to 15 cents per pound, with the idea 
that some time in the future he might realize 25 cents, and not infre- 
quently he was doomed to sell his crop for 8 to 10 cents per pound, 
or even, occasionally, as low as 6 cents. For the purpose of the 
trade in hops, Groton was the center for the product of the towns 
of Pepperell, Townsend, Ashby, Dunstable, Tyngsborough, West- 
ford, Littleton, Boxboro, Harvard, Shirley, and Lunenburg. 

The product of all these towns in the years when the culture was 
largest may have amounted to 500 bales, equal to about 50 tons. 
Mr. Henry Woods at Groton, who was a dealer in hops, in one year 
bought and sold, either on his own account or on commission, about 
350 bales, which may have been about seven-tenths of the entire 
product of the towns named. 

Between the years 1840 and 1850 the growing of hops was trans- 
ferred to the State of New York, where the crop could be produced 
at less cost; and more recently it has passed to the extreme north- 
west, largely to the State of Wisconsin. It is very doubtful whether 
a bale of hops has been raised in the towns named since the year 

^55- 

Yours truly, 

Geo. S. Boutwell. 

MOUNTAINS SEEN FROM GIBBET HILL. 

Several years ago Mr. Edward G. Chamberlain, of Au- 
burndale, in reply to a note, gave me some interesting facts 
in r,egard to certain hills and mountains, as seen from Gibbet 
Hill. Mr. Chamberlain is an enthusiastic member of the 
Appalachian Mountain Club, and very familiar with the 
heights and peaks of New England. By his courtesy in 
the matter, he has placed me under obligations to him for 
facts that could not be gathered from other sources. While 
Mr. Chamberlain has never been on Gibbet Hill, his opinions 
in regard to the distant range of mountains, as seen from that 
point, are entitled to great weight. The following letter will 
explain itself: — 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF GROTON. 67 

Auburndale, Mass., November 29, 1S95. 
Dr. Samuel A. Green: — 

Dear Sir, — I enclose the paper handed me on Monday at the 
Topographical Survey Office containing queries in regard to moun- 
tains seen from Gibbet Hill in Groton. I have laid out the bear- 
ings which you give, on a chart that I constructed some twenty 
years ago. 

You make no question in regard to Joe English and the Unca- 
noonocks, and the bearings agree with the chart. Kearsarge you mark 
with a query, but it is undoubtedly correct. It is 2,948 feet above 
sea, distant from Gibbet 55 miles. Its profile from Gibbet would be 
probably something like this : ,—- ~^\ , depending on how much 
of it you can see. This is compiled from sketches made from other 
points in Massachusetts. The mountain N. 8° 40' E. marked in pencil 
" Saddleback ? " is probably Gunstock, 63 miles distant, 2,394 feet 
high, in the town of Guilford, N. H., just south of Lake Winnepe- 
saukee. It is the middle and highest peak of the Suncook Moun- 
tains (or Belknap Mountains, modern name). I do not think I have 
ever seen it from any point in Massachusetts, unless from Wachusett. 
But from Groton you may look along the valleys of the Nashua, 
Merrimack, and Suncook Rivers, a direct line to the source of the 
latter in the Suncook Mountains. I wish the old name could be 
restored. 

In regard to the two mountains seen from East Gibbet (X. 1S 
50' E. and N. 23 E.), I am not so confident. The former may be 
Fort Mountain in Epsom, 1,428 feet high, and 41 miles distant; and 
the latter, Blue Job Mountain in Farmington, about 1400 feet high, 
and 55 miles distant. 

There is a range of hills sometimes called the Blue Hills (or Frost 
Mountains), extending N NE-S SW in the towns of Milton, Farming- 
ton, Strafford, Northwood, and Epsom, about 1,000 to 1,400 feet high. 
I have never explored them except from distant points with a glass. 
As near as I can make out, Saddleback is a comparatively low hill in 
the town of Northwood, which makes a fine show from the neighbor- 
ing town of Deerfield, and used to attract some notice in stage-coach 
days ; and so has become famous as Saddleback " in Deerfield." 
When any of its higher, but less known, neighbors are seen from a 
distance, they are at once identified as Saddleback. I do not think 
that I ever saw this mountain, but I have often tried to make it out. 



68 NATURAL IllSTnkY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

Fori Mountain in Epsom would probably appear like this 
\ from Groton, blue Job I have never satisfactorily iden- 
tified. The mountain seen in thai direction you think is the most 
distant one visible. May it not thus appear so because of its low 
altitude, showing but little above the horizon, while Gunstock (if it be 
Gunstock) is not only better situated for exhibition, but (without 
computing) by its greater height may have greater apparent altitude, 
and so a clearer profile, even though further off? 
Yours very truly, 

E. G. Chamherlain. 

iin, in continuation of the subject, Mr. Chamberlain 
writes, on December 20, 1893, as follows: — 

When studying the view from a hill I always used to compute 
the azimuth, or direction to all the points whose position had been 
determined ; and if the Latitude and Longitude of the view-point 
had nut been determined, 1 took measures to determine them 
myself, so as to compute the bearings. If you have the " Appala- 
chia " magazine in your library, you may find my methods described 
in Volume III. (page 122), and Volume IV. (page 132). I have 
never visited Gibbet 1 1 ill, so I have made an approximate position 
by comparing several maps, and have plotted on my chart with the 
following results : — 

FROM GIBBET HILL. 

Approximate Bearings and Distances. 





\ pproximate 












1 [eight. 


Azimuth. 


Bearing< 


Dist 


nice. 


Wachusett Mt. . . 


201S ft. 


6af° 


s. 62 1 W. 


18^ miles 


Watatick " . . . 


1847 " 


., 


N. 70 W. 


ni 


<( 


Monadnock" . . . 


3170" 




N. 5 S ', W. 


3*1 


« 


Temple " . . . 


20 S 0(?) " 


132 


N. 48° VV. 


22 


tt 


S. Pai k Monadnock . 


3289 " 


|. •,<•,'■ 


\. 13 1 w. 


23^ 


it 


N. " 


2260 " 


140I 


N. 39 i ° W. 


1 


it 


Crotchet Mt. . . . 


2066 " 


>iol 


N. 30;,' W. 


3°l 


tt 


Lyndeboro Pinnacle 


— 


LS2° 


N. 28 w. 




it 


nglish . . . . 


1 a8o(?) " 


167 


N. 13 W. 




tt 


\\ . Uncanoonock . . 


1300(0 " 


•7., ; 


N. 5! W. 


26 


tt 


1. 


•335 " 


•77 


N. 3° w. 




tt 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF GROTON. 69 

Joe English was a friendly Indian who in early times did 
many good turns for the white settlers ; and he probably 
acquired his name from close association with them. While 
acting as a guard to Lieutenant Butterfield and wife, he was 
killed by hostile Indians between Dunstable and Chelmsford, 
in what is now Tyngsborough, on July 27, 1706. Joe English 
Hill in New Boston, N. H., the scene of some of his adven- 
tures, takes its name from him. 



70 NATURAL HISTORY AXD TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

MOAT. 

The two following letters are taken from "The Nation" 
(New York), under their respective dates, the first, December 
5, 1901, and the other, May 8, 1902; and they explain them- 
selves. " Moat " appears to be a folk-word brought over by 
the early comers, which took root in this neighborhood and 
has survived. Language is a growth, and not a creation ; 
and it is always interesting to follow the many changes which 
come from natural evolution. 

To the Editor ok The Nation: 

Sir, — In the town of Groton, "Massachusetts, the word moat is 
given to a small body of water usually found at the mouth of various 
brooks which empty into the Nashua River. For ten, fifteen, or 
twenty rods above the outlet there is a considerable widening of the 
small stream ; and the adjacent ground is wet and boggy. In the 
spring and summer this sheet of water is generally covered with lily- 
pads, and is much frequented by pickerel. These pond-holes are 
commonly known among the farmers as moats — a term not in use 
with the same meaning in the neighboring towns, even though lying 
on the same river. It hardly seems probable that this use of the word 
is connected in any way with the ditch around a house or castle, filled 
with water. Groton is a town very nearly two hundred and fifty years 
old ; and I am inclined to think that it is a folk-word, brought over 
from England by the early settlers. 

Governor Boutwell writes me, under date of July 10, 1901, that 
" the word moat has been in use in Groton during my residence in 
the town, now more than sixty-six years. At several points on the 
Nashua River there are shallow channels that are nearly parallel with the 
river, and that connect with the river at the lower end. These are filled 
with water from the river. There are two such moats on my premises." 

I should like it if anybody can throw light on the derivation of the word. 

Samuel A. Green. 
Boston, November 21, 1901. 

To the Editor of The Nation : 

Sir, — Dr. S. A. Green last December called attention in the 
Nation to the local use in Groton, Mass., of the word " moat " as 



MOAT. 71 

applied to certain brooks at their junction with the Nashua River. As 
Dr. Green's query concerning the origin and currency of moat ap- 
pears to have elicited no response, I submit what follows : 

Manifestly " moat " meaning hill or embankment is inapplicable to 
the thing called moat in the folk-speech of Groton. The thing de- 
scribed is a confluence, what the men of old time termed " a waters' 
meet." Moat signifying a trench filled with water is a technical term 
used in connection with works of fortification, and does not fit the 
facts given so well as " mote," a meeting or meet. 

Stormonth's English Dictionary has : " Mote n. mot ; also gemote, 
in Anglo-Saxon times, a meeting, as in the Witenagemot, the assem- 
bly of wisemen." Ward-mote and folk-mote are instanced. It may 
be added that, in the City of London, the meeting of the freemen at 
which Councilmen are elected is called " ward-mote " to this day. 
The Century Dictionary and Skeat (Etymological Dictionary) both treat 
mote as an obsolete form of moot, meaning meeting or assembly. 

Numerous archaic compound words in which mote or mot signify- 
ing " meeting " occurs might be given ; a few must suffice. Gomme, 
in " Primitive Folk-Moots," speaks of a Motestowhill near Stoneleigh, 
where the socmen held meetings. Worsaae, in his " Danes and Nor- 
wegians in England, Scotland, and Wales," says : " A document of 
the year 1258 conveys a gift of some ground in the suburbs of Dublin 
in Thingmotha (from mote, a meeting). The Thing place was near 
the present site of Dublin Castle, the name of the surrounding parish 
was 'St. Andrew de Thengmote.' " Stubbs, in his "Constitutional 
History of England," vol. I., p. 431, notes the existence of titnsci- 
pesmot, township-meeting, shire-moot, hundred moot, and portman- 
mot, court of portreeve in boroughs. Vinogradoff, in " Villainage in 
England," cites sockemanemot and frankhalimote. Although Stor- 
month, Skeat, and the Century Dictionary all cite various kindred 
forms of mote in Anglo-Saxon or the Scandinavian tongues, none of 
them notices the use of mote or its Norse equivalents in the sense of 
junction or confluence. But Cleasby's "Icelandic-English Diction- 
ary " has the following : 

Mot (Anglo-Saxon gemot; Old English mote or moot inward-mote; 
Danish mode, Swedish mot and mote) a meeting. 

2. As a Norse law term : in Norway a mot was a town meeting and is 
opposed to thing, a county meeting. 

3. A joint, juncture; ar-nwt a meeting of waters, also a local name. 
[Compare Latin Confluentia, Coblentz.] 



72 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

According to Bjorkman's " Svensk-Englesk Ordbok," mote means 
confluence as well as meeting or assembly. Aa in Norwegian and 
Danish and A in Swedish signify a small river or streamlet, and we 

o o o 

have in Swedish : Amun, rivermouth, Abryn, river brink, Astrand, 
riverbank, as well as Aqfiord and Aamot in Norwegian. Aamot 
means " a meeting of waters " and " confluence." (See Geelmuyden's 
" Engelsk-Norsk Ordbok.") According to the " Dictionnaire des 
Bureaux de Poste " (Berne. 1895), Aamot, near Drammen, and 
Aamotsda/, near Skien, are post-offices in Norway. Map 95, g. 6, in 
the " Century Atlas " shows Aamot, in the province of Hedermarke, 
Norway, on the Glommen River. 

Watersmeet, where the Combe Park Water joins the East Lyn 
River, a few miles above Lynmouth in Devonshire, England, is well 
known to tourists in the Doone country. Bagworthy Water is a stream 
in the same region. Watersmeet is found in Johnston's Atlas, 1889 
(see Devonshire), and on the North Devon sheet, i. e., No. 27, of the 
maps of the Ordnance Survey. Again, Watersmeet appears as the 
name of a town in Michigan (see Map 22, C. 5, Century Atlas). Is 
water used as a synonym of brook or river anywhere in this country ? 
Moore, in his Irish Melodies, sings of the "Sweet vale of Avoca," 
where " the bright waters meet." The waters whose meeting (mote) 
forms the Avoca (which is Celtic for " meeting of the waters," accord- 
ing to Chambers's Encyclopedia), are the Avonbeg, or little river, and 
the Avonmore, big river. 

The Celtic Avoca and the Norwegian Aamot appear to be closely 
synonymous with the Devonshire watersmeet. One is inclined to ask 
whether aa or mote occurs in the folk-speech of Devonshire, or of any 
other English county in which Norse influence is traceable. Maps of 
the Lake country present so many " waters " and " becks " that one 
is led to think that aa or mote may still survive in the folk-speech of 
Cumberland or Westmorland. 

It is likely that " mote," and not " moat " is the correct form of 
the word cited by Dr. Green, and that it was brought over sea from 
an early home of the Angles. Possibly there are other motes or meets 
in New England, but I have searched many maps for them in vain ; 
nor have I found a mote on any map of East Anglia, or Friesland, or 
Denmark. 

Edward M. Hartwell. 
Boston, April 23, 1902. 



SALMON IN THE NASHUA RIVER. 73 

A third letter in "The Evening Post" (New York), May 
12, 1902, bears so closely on this subject that it is given 
here, as follows : 

To the Editor of The Evening Post: 

Sir, — In to-day's Evening Post Mr. Edward M. Hartwell of 
Boston gives the only correct explanation of the word " moat " as 
applied to certain brooks at their junction with the Nashua River in 
Massachusetts. In support of Mr. Hartwell's theory that the New 
England word is a misapplied technical term, and that " it does not 
fit the facts given so well as ' mote,' a meeting or meet," I beg to 
quote the following Swedish words in addition to several English, 
Norwegian, and Swedish ones cited by Mr. Hartwell. In the county 
of Wermland, Sweden, there is a place called Amot, situated at the 
junction of two waters. In the county of Gefleborg, Sweden, there 
is a place called Amots Bruk, also situated at the junction of two 
streams. 

There is also a Swedish word moivatten, but not a geographical 
name, signifying the water which in floodtime flows from a larger 
stream into a smaller estuary, backing up or meeting the water from 
the latter. 

" Mote " is perhaps of Saxon derivation, from metan, to meet; mot, 
a meeting, etc. One finds the same word in the Icelandic : maeta, 
to meet ; and also in the Dutch : maeten, to meet, and gemot, a 
meeting. 

Axel C. Hallbeck. 
New York, May 8. 



SALMON IN THE NASHUA RIVER. 

A salmon weighing 9^ pounds was caught recently in the Nashua 
River, near the Hollingsworth paper mills, at Groton. It is many 
years since this species of fish has been found in the neighborhood, 
but the provision now made for their passage over the dams, in going 
up stream in the spring of the year, renders it probable that others 
may be taken. 

"Boston Journal," Sunday, May 12, 1S95. 

From what I have since learned about this fish, I am in- 
clined to think that it was a carp, and not a salmon. It was 
caught by a young man named Nutting. 



74 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 



THE SURVIVAL OF SOME OLD WORDS. 

MORE than thirty years ago I copied and printed " The 
Early Records of Groton " ; and I was interested to find cer- 
tain words in the original manuscript that have practically 
disappeared from the language, and in fact have died a 
natural death. One such word is causey for causeway, which 
occurs twice on page 36 of the printed book. While its 
meaning is clear, I have been waiting patiently to hear some 
one use the word in order to show that it has been kept alive 
somewhere. Much to my delight a few years ago I heard a 
man with whom I was driving use it, as he pointed to a 
causeway on a low piece of ground in a field near by. The 
man was of Groton ancestry for many generations, and was 
accustomed to homespun speech. I was more than pleased 
to hear the word ; and at my request he repeated it and told 
me what it meant, when he expressed some surprise that I 
had never heard it. Under date of September 28, 1 7 1 7, 
Chief-Justice Sewall, in his Diary (III. 141), speaks of 
mending " the causey." 

Later I found that causey was used in the earlier editions of 
King James's version of the Bible, where it occurs in 1 Chron- 
icles xxvi. 16, 18, and afterward translated as causeway. 
While the Bible has proved to be the source of great wisdom 
in matters of religious thought, in many ways it has also 
been of much service to philological students. 

When I was a boy, I remember hearing certain old persons 
who always said housen for houses, but I have not now heard 
the expression for perhaps fifty years. A few centuries ago 
it probably was a plural in good usage, as the word oxen 
with a similar termination is to-day. It is always interest- 
ing to note the changes in ordinary speech which take place 
from time to time. Many years ago, certainly forty, James 
Russell Lowell once told me at Bar Harbor that for a long 
time he was on the lookout for the word b/owth, meaning 
blossoms. Finally on one occasion in the spring of the year 
he was driving with a countryman, when he was much pleased 



THE USE OF A PILLION. 75 

to have his attention called to the blotvtJi of an apple tree in a 
neighboring orchard. The thrill caused by this word was 
equalled only by the pleasure of a disciple of Izaak Walton 
when he feels the bite of a trout jumping at his fly. The 
word " blowth " is now no longer heard, but three centuries 
ago it was not uncommon in literature. Lowell himself in 
his Introduction to "The Biglow Papers," second series (p. 
xxviii), gives this word with many other similar ones that have 
lost either their original meaning or their pronunciation. 



THE USE OF A PILLION. 

Few persons of the present day in this neighborhood have 
ever seen a pillion, and fewer still have ever seen one in 
actual use. It was a leather pad or cushion, put on behind 
and attached to a man's saddle by straps, on which a woman 
might ride. In early times pillions were common throughout 
the country towns of New England, and particularly the hill 
towns, but they have long since disappeared. Every farmer 
that owned a saddle also possessed a pillion; and, in going 
on horseback for any considerable distance to the store or 
meeting-house, he often took his wife to ride along with him, 
she holding on by clasping his waist. In the same way the 
young men, following the example thus set them, frequently 
took their sisters or somebody else's sisters to the singing- 
school or other gathering ; and the tradition has come down 
that the girls liked this kind of travelling quite as much as 
their brothers or somebody else's brothers. 

During the last ten years I have asked many aged persons 
in different parts of Middlesex County, if they had ever wit- 
nessed this style of riding; and, almost invariably, they have 
replied, never more than once or twice, and then only when 
they were children. From these facts, I draw the conclusion 
that the custom of riding double disappeared in this part of 
Massachusetts more than a century ago, though in some 
other places it may have lingered till a later period. 



76 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

THE AGE OF APPLE-TREES. 

Ox my place in the village of Groton there are several old 
apple-trees which seventy-five years ago bore well, and still 
continue to bear a fair crop of fruit. While they begin to show 
the signs of age, they do not seem to be very much larger 
or taller than they used to be, when I first remember them, 
though, of course, they are thicker through the butts. Per- 
haps to my youthful fancy these trees then appeared larger 
than they really were. I mention the fact here in order to 
show that apple-trees will continue to bear during a long 
period of time, probably through a century. 



THOMAS BROWNE, DISH-TURNER. 

At the Essex Registry of Deeds, Salem, there is recorded 
(Volume II., p. 91), under date of June 17, 1663, the transfer 
of a six-acre house-lot and a house by William Longley, of 
Lynn, to Thomas Browne, of " Grawton," who is described 
as a dish-turner. For a reference to the same transaction, 
see Deeds (Volume III., p. 126) at the Middlesex Registry, 
East Cambridge. In early times many articles of household 
use were made of wood which have since been fashioned in 
other material. Particularly in the country, wooden bowls, 
plates, large spoons, etc., were in common use ; and men 
skilled in making them formed a separate trade, often carried 
on in connection with some other calling. 

Many years ago the late Mrs. Pamelia Jane (Bolton | Cart- 
wright) Howe, of Roxbury, daughter of Eliab Going and 
Dorcas Rogers (Farwell) Bolton, of Groton, gave me a 
wooden plate made of maple, with an inscription on the bot- 
tom, saying that since the year 1756 it had been used by three 
generations of the Foster family, and that it was sold by 
auction in 1880. The family lived near Squannacook village, 
now known as West Groton. 



WILD ANIMALS. 77 



WILD ANIMALS. 



CERTAIN kinds of animals, common in the early days of 
Groton, have now become extinct, or nearly so, in the 
neighborhood. Some of them, as enemies of mankind, 
have been stamped out in a relentless manner, while others 
have been exterminated by the hunter or the trapper. In 
other words, they have disappeared before the march of 
civilization. 

A frequent entry in the early town-records is the payment 
of money for killing wolves. The bounty at first appears to 
have been ten shillings a head, but later it was considerably 
less. On November 13, 1672, an assessment was made by 
the Selectmen for raising money to pay some debts, among 
which was the item: "for pay for a woalfes head to John 
Nutting o 10 o." On February 8, 1680, — "The town Rat 
beeing truly cast vp by the sellect men to pay for wolues heads 
the sume is 8 6 4." Again, on December 29, 1683, a payment 
is charged " too Josiah Parker for I wollfs hed and pups O 11," 
" too Jams Nutin for 2 wolves hed and 3 days 1 11," and "too 
John ffarnworth for 1 wolf hed 3 dys half 1 1 3." Other 
entries of a similar character are found scattered through the 
town-records of that century. 

For sixty years Deer-Reeves were regular officers chosen 
by the town to protect wild deer. As early as March 1, 
1742-3, John Longley, Jr., and Obadiah Parker were elected 
to the position " to Take Care y l . y! Dear be not Destroyed 
Conterary to y e . Law," &c. ; and the office was kept up until 
the March meeting of 1802. 

Foxes are still found, though gradually decreasing in num- 
bers. While a lad, at different times I have seen them on 
Broad Meadow during the winter season, when they were 
tempted by hunger to visit hen-houses or poultry yards. 
A few years ago, near Snake Hill, I saw unmistakable traces of 
a bird that had been killed by a fox within a very short time. 
The late George Sumner Graves, a noted sportsman of Groton, 
wrote me on November 13, 1889, only sixteen days before his 



78 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

death, that in his opinion there are not less than twenty-five 
foxes killed each year within the limits of the town. 

According to " A Statement of the Number of Noxious 
Animals destroyed in each town," made on January 27, 1837, 
by the Secretary of the Commonwealth (who, by the way, 
was John P. Bigelow, a native of Groton), fifty-four foxes were 
killed in this town between May 1, 1835, and January 11, 

1837. 

More than sixty years ago I remember that the late Asa 

Shedd Lewis brought into the Brick Store a piece of wood, 
as large as a man's arm, that had been gnawed through by 
beavers. Mr. Lewis lived on Chicopee Row ; and the wood, 
which I saw at the time, was found in the meadow, near 
Hawtree Brook. See Miss Hill's paper under " Beaver" (p. 78). 
Frank U. Lewis, the present owner of the farm, is a grandson 
of A. S. Lewis. 

The late Zara Patch once told me that his grandfather Jacob 
Patch once pointed out to him, when a boy, the place near 
the foot of Rocky Hill, in the easterly part of the town, where 
when a young man he had seen a bear with some cubs, lying 
down under a projecting bowlder. His grandfather was born 
on April 5, 1747. Mr. Patch was a son of Zara and Susanna 
(Nutting) Patch, and was born at Groton on November 20. 
1812. He died there on June 10, 1909, and at the time of 
his death was the oldest person in town. 

In the. spring of 1846 the late Eliab Going Bolton gave me 
the rattle of a rattlesnake, which he had killed some years 
before on Snake Hill. Besides a " button " at the end, it 
had twelve rattles, and is now in the possession of the Boston 
Natural History Society, where it was given on December 9, 
1 869. 

Muskrats are still common in the meadows, and a great pest 
to all potato patches on low ground. Woodchucks are also 
occasionally seen in the fields or on the hills, but in time they 
will disappear, like many other kinds of animals. Within 
forty years I have seen a mink on my father's meadow ; 
and occasionally one is killed in the township. 

An article appeared in the "Boston Evening Record," 



DR. WILLIAM DOUGLASS'S SUMMARY. 79 

November 9, 1889, under the head of" Good Game Stories," 
from which the following extract is taken : — 

There is good coon country nearer home in Middlesex County. 
Henry Fletcher of Westford, a great coon and fox hunter, has bagged 
five coons so far this fall. Other animals besides coons are being 
killed up in Middlesex. Mr. Carkin, who lives in the village of 
Graniteville, in Westford, took his gun and went hunting the other 
day on Snake Hill, close by Sandy pond, in Groton. Snake Hill is 
a wild, ledgy place, and was once a great resort for rattlesnakes. 
Mr. Carkin's dog ran an animal into a wall and poked his nose in 
after him, and pulled it out again quicker than lightning. The dog's 
nose was full of quills. Mr. Carkin killed the animal, which proved 
to be a huge hedge-hog. A few days later a Groton hunter killed 
another hedge-hog on Snake Hill, and he found in the ledges the 
mouth of a den, which by the " sign " around it seemed to be inhab- 
ited by at least 20 of the animals. There are coons in other sections 
of Middlesex. 

In the " Boston Evening Record," October 11, 1890, under 
the heading of" Seen and Heard," it is said: — 

That chosen haunt of the fierce and fretful hedge-hog, Snake 
Hill, hard by Sandy Pond, in the town of Groton (Groton, Mass.), is 
reported to have turned out a large fall crop of the sharp-quilled 
beasts. 



DR. WILLIAM DOUGLASS'S SUMMARY. 

Many plants were brought originally to New England from 
other countries for their medical virtues, and many were in- 
troduced by chance. Some have multiplied so rapidly and 
grown so plentifully in the fields and by the roadside, that 
they are now considered common weeds. Wormwood, tansy, 
chamomile, yarrow, dandelion, burdock, plantain, catnip, and 
mint, all came here by importation. These foreign plants 
made their way into the interior, as fast as civilization 
extended in that direction. Dr. William Douglass, in " A 



80 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

Summary, Historical and Political, Of the first Planting, 
progressive Improvements, and present State of the Brit- 
ish Settlements in North America," first published at 
Boston (Volume I. in the year 1749, and Volume II. in 
1753), says: — 

Near Boston and other great Towns, some Field Plants which 
accidentally have been imported from Europe, spread much, and are 
a great Nusance in Pastures, ... at present they have spread Inland 
from Boston, about 30 Miles (II. 207). 

According to this statement, the pioneers of some of these 
foreign weeds had reached Groton near the middle of the last 
century. Dr. Douglass gives another fact about the town 
which is worth preserving. He says : — 

There are some actual Surveys of Extents which ought not to be 
lost in Oblivion ; as for Instance, from Merrimack River due West to 
Groton Meeting House are 12 Miles; from Groton Meeting House 
(as surveyed by Col. Stoddard, Major Fulliam, and Mr. Dwight, by 
Order of the General Assembly) to Northfield Meeting- House W. 16 
d. N. by Compass, are 41 Miles and half; from Deerfield Meeting- 
House near Connecticut River, a little higher [lower?], to Albany 
Church upon the West Side of Hudson's River, W. 12 and half d. N. 
are 57 Miles 20 Rod. From such actual Surveys the publick Roads 
may be laid out to better Advantage than at present : For Instance, 
the present Road from Boston to Albany (this is the Road to Mon- 
real in Canada) by Way of Springfield, the Housatonicks, and 
Kinderhook is about 200 Miles ; a new and better Road, but not as 
yet well improv'd, is via Lancaster and Nichawog [Petersham] to 
Sunderland upon Connecticut River 84 Miles, and from Deerfield a 
little higher to Albany are 57 Miles, being in all only about 150 Miles 
(I. 425 note). 

Such surveys, as those mentioned in this extract, before 
the days of railroads, were of more value to the public than 
they are now ; but, as the author says, " they ought not to be 
lost in Oblivion." 



MOCKING-BIRDS FOUND IN GROTON. 



MOCKING-BIRDS FOUND IN GROTON. 

The following communication is taken from " The Auk : 
A Quarterly Journal of Ornithology " (XII. 308, 309) for July, 
1895, and furnishes an interesting fact in connection with the 
fauna of Groton. For many years the editor of the His- 
torical Series has known that the mocking-bird was seen 
occasionally in this neighborhood, but he was not aware 
that the fact had any special significance, or that the bird 
ever nested here. 

Nesting of Mimus polyglottus in Eastern Massachusetts. 
- — On June 3, 1895, while walking along a narrow country road in 
Groton, Massachusetts, my attention was suddenly attracted by the 
strange sight of a Mockingbird flying across an adjoining field. It 
alighted on a fence post near by, and, as I turned back to make 
sure that I had seen aright, my surprise was increased by the 
appearance of a second one. The two birds flew off together with 
such an evident air of being mates that I immediately began to 
look for a nest. The road was bordered on each side by a broad 
stretch of grassy fields, divided by rail fences ; an eighth of a mile 
away it crossed a much travelled highway, strung along which a 
dozen houses could be seen ; while at about the same distance in 
the opposite direction was the beginning of a large tract of decidu- 
ous woods. Besides these woods, there was hardly a tree anywhere 
near, save a few small apple-trees by one of the houses and one 
or two more — stunted, chance-sown seedlings — growing by the 
roadside. To one of the latter, a few steps away, I directed my 
search. In a moment I discovered a clumsily built nest a dozen 
feet from the ground, amid the thick foliage of a branch that over- 
hung the road. I climbed the tree and, though I found the nest 
empty, I was rewarded by a scolding visit from the birds. When I 
came again on June 13 they gave me a still more unfriendly greet- 
ing though they were so wary that I obtained only the male to 
accompany the nest and four half-incubated eggs which I secured. 

This locality, which is in the northern part of Middlesex County, 
hardly six miles south of the New Hampshire boundary, is the most 
northern point in New England where the Mockingbird has yet 
been known to breed, and the only one in Massachusetts, east of 



82 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

Springfield, where its nest actually has been taken. The only other 
recorded evidence I can find of the breeding of the species in east- 
ern Massachusetts is based on two families of well grown young, 
found, one at Arlington (Auk, I, 192), the other at Marshfield 
(O. & O. XIV, 144). In each of these cases the birds were not 
discovered, until August 15, although it seems probable that they 
had been bred in the neighborhood. — Charles F. Batchelder, 
Cambridge, Mass. 



LEACH-TUBS. 



DURING my boyhood nearly every family in town had a 
" leach " standing outdoors within easy distance of the 
kitchen, which was looked after by the women of the houes- 
hold. It was used for draining water through wood-ashes in 
order to get lye, a needed ingredient in making soft soap. 
Sometimes a barrel or hogshead was called into requisition 
for holding the ashes, but these receptacles were rather tem- 
porary, as the lye would soon rot the staves ; and I have seen 
a section of a hollow tree used for the purpose. The best 
leach-tubs were made of plank, and in the form of an in- 
verted truncated cone or pyramid, with a perforated bottom 
covered with straw or twigs, letting the liquid percolate into 
grooves cut in the supporting base in order to conduct it to a 
pot under the edge. From time to time this receiving vessel 
was emptied into the soap-fat barrel, which often stood in the 
woodshed near by; and occasionally a small piece of potash 
was added to supplement the lye. With some other details 
not necessary to mention here the product of the mixture was 
the saponaceous compound known as soft soap. Within the 
last fifty years these leaching vats have disappeared from this 
neighborhood, and the ready-made article is brought from the 
factory to the door of the house, where it is sold for cash or 
bartered for grease or ashes. The change in such matters is 
a phase of domestic evolution which is continually going on 
around us, and yet so gradually that it makes but little im- 
pression at the time, and is soon forgotten- 



MINERALS FOUND IN GROTON. S3 

A SILVER-GRAY FOX. 

On May 31, 1907, the day after the Memorial exercises at 
Groton, I was driving with the late Colonel T. Lawrence 
Motley in the easterly part of the town, passing by the 
Rocky Hill district into the township of Dunstable. Just be- 
fore we reached the Groton line again toward Pepperell, a 
large silver-gray fox came out of the sprout land or woods 
on the easterly side of the road and trotted along very lei- 
surely ahead of us. We reined up the horse and followed the 
fox slowly for perhaps thirty or forty rods. He did not ap- 
pear to be at all frightened, and was so large that at first sight 
I thought he was a wolf, but his brush clinched the matter 
in regard to the kind of animal. There was no mistake about 
the tail. In a minute or two the fox left the road and trotted 
into the woods on the westerly side of the way. We then 
hastened toward the spot where he had disappeared, not ex- 
pecting to see him again. When we reached the place, much 
to our astonishment he had turned around, and was standing 
agape within twelve or fifteen feet of the road staring at us. 
He seemed to be enjoying the situation and was grinning 
apparently at our surprise. W T e stopped for a moment 
and watched him, when I made the remark, What a pity it is 
that we could not have caught him with a kodak, as he then 
stood. By this time the fox had seen enough of us, when 
he deliberately turned round and disappeared in the 
underbrush and forests. 

He was the largest specimen of a fox, and the only one of 
this variety, that I had ever seen ; and Colonel Motley agreed 
with me fully in regard to the size and the kind that ever 
came under his observation. 



MINERALS FOUND IN GROTON. 

The following paper is found, among the manuscripts of 
the Massachusetts Historical Society, in the first volume of 
Belknap Papers, marked on the back " Miscellaneous Letters. 



84 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

1637 to 1788," leaf eleven. According to the indorsement, 
the paper was written in the spring of 1684. The writer was 
Dr. William Avery, a physician of Boston, who was concerned 
in mining researches, as made in New England more than two 
hundred years ago ; and his correspondent was Robert Boyle, 
of London, who was much interested in the welfare of the 
Indians. Eliot dedicated to Boyle the second edition of his 
translation of the Bible. 

Cold Spring lies in the northerly part of Groton, near 
Reedy Meadow, and is still known by that name. Marcasite, 
mentioned in the paper, is a sulphide of iron resembling 
pyrite or common iron pyrites in composition but differing 
in form. For many years bog-ore has been found in that 
neighborhood, and formerly was worked to a small extent. 

In the year 1684, the highest court in England declared 
the charter of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay null and 
void ; and the allusion in the last paragraph of the postscript 
is to that anticipated event. 

A Note of the mineralls. 

No 1 is only to shew the probabilitie that svch [torn'] have bin 
flvid or liqvid and have had a kind [torn] or concrettion 

No. 2 is a Red Dvst that corns ovt of the side of a [torn] Som 
Doe think is a signe of som mettall 

No. 3 is a marksite that corns ovt of a Narrow long hill and this 
matter is taken ovt at the top of the hill abovt 3 or 4 foot Deep 

No. 5 is a svlphvriovs matter lying in veines between the sqvare 
stones sent the last yeer 

Nom 4 is a marksite or firestone that mr Whorten have sent if that 
might be a hopefull Signe of mettalls : there is plentie of it — this 
lyes on the top of the hills the Rooks seems to be made vp of it 

No 6 is from the Side of a great hill jvst by a brook side and was 
taken almost at the top of the grovnd where is mvch Soft blak Stone 
that will easily crumble to Dust 

This like a shell in the paper Sent by mr whorten only as a Raritie 

This Bitvmen or gum is fovnd by the Sea Shore cast up by the 
water if it may be proffittable we hope to present yov with more of it 
and also give some fvrther acount of it — at Nantastik enqvire of mr 
gare or mr Coffin they are inhabitance there or Nantvket 



MINERALS FOUND IN GROTON. 85 

No 7 is taken ovt of a Roky hill — and if we had not bin prevented 
wee had Sent more of it 

Thes are presented to yovr Honovr for advice 
if any of thes be encvrageing wee shall take care to make Som farther 
tria.ll, to see what ther is, that lyes Deeper and is more incvrageing. 
Not Dovbting bvt if as thes faile but if the lord shal please to prosper 
ovr indevovrs — bvt within a years time to present yovr honovr with 
Somthing of more worth than any of thes 
[Indorsed] A Note of things Sent to mr boyle March 30 83 
Postscript 

Honovrable S r 

wee who have written to yovr honovr for that privilidge from his 
maj for the encovragement to poor covntriemen that mines mi<dit 
be Discovered here in N— E Did it not at al to apropriat the ben- 
efit of it to ovr selves for we have pvrposed that if Providence shal 
make ovr indevovrs profitable to vs : that wee will not be bakward 
to shew ovr thankfullnes to his majestie for his graciovs favovr to 
vs in that case 

and haveing for this 2 or 3 yeers time bin Diging in a Roky hill 
at cold Spring at Groten and following a veine of a svlfvriovs 
markasite 44 foot Right Dovne with ovt one shovl fvll of earth 
and Now are in a white sparr — a small qvantetie of the spa[rr] 
and of the marcasite we have sent to yovr honovr, and covld be 
willing if yov shall think it may be acsepted that what we have with 
ovr labovr and cost attained that it might be presented to his 
majestie as a token of ovr alegience and ovr Desires of his pros- 
peritie and the first frvits of ovr minerall work (before we have 
made any benefit of it to ovr selves, in hope if the lord continve 
ovr lives with health peace and libertie that within a few yeer time 
we shal have somthing of more valve to present him with — it 
may be it may be [sic'] lookt vpon as the 2 hands fvll of water that 
I mentioned in my last — bvt if it find like acseptance (seeing I 
have no better) my end will be in som measvre attained. 

we have sent al that we have attained knowing that there is som 
thing good in it tho wee feare not proffitable at present — and if 
yovr honovr shal see Cause to cal for it we have taken care with 
ovr honovred frind who will without faile Dispose of it according to 
yovr honovrs order 

it is Reported by some that there are sedvlovs indevovrs by som 
ill affected persons : to insence his majestie against vs & to provok 



86 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

him to change ovr govrment, which if they shovld prevaile to Doe 
it mvst of Nessesitie pvt a stop to this mineral work and we who 
som of vs have labovred in it this 20 yeers and are bvt Now com 
to a grovnded hope of ovr Desires of benefit to his majestic and 
to our Nation also mvst cease ovr indevovrs in that kind : and 
ly dovne in Sorrow knowing that the Enemy can Never be able to 
covntervaile the kings Damage 

[Indorsed] a Coppy of a letter to mr boyle 84 conserning 
mineralls at Groten 



FOUR ARTESIAN WELLS. 

In the autumn of 1886 two Artesian wells were drilled at 
Groton, under the management of Benjamin Franklin Smith 
and his brother Charles Greenleaf Smith, of Boston, experts 
in driving wells. As the details of such matters are so soon 
forgotten, I will here place on record the following facts, 
obtained through the courtesy of the Messrs. Smith. 

The first well was sunk, on the west side of Farmers' Row, 
for the Groton School. It was drilled six inches in diameter 
to the depth of one hundred and eighty-seven feet, at a cost 
of eight dollars ($8.00) a foot, and was finished in the earl}' 
part of November, 1886, after several months' labor. 

The second well was drilled by the same firm on the land 
of Frank Farnsworth Waters, near the Unitarian Meeting- 
house ; and the work was begun immediately after the com- 
pletion of the first one. It was sunk six inches in diameter 
to the depth of one hundred and sixty-three feet, of which 
sixty-three were through sand and gravel and one hundred 
through rock. The cost was seven dollars ($7.00) a foot for 
drilling through earth, and eight dollars (S8.00) for rock. The 
daily progress was between four and five feet on an average, 
and the work was completed in the early part of December. 
The water is excellent in quality and inexhaustible in quantity, 
and is pumped up by steam power. The well is estimated 
to yield a continuous supply of fifty gallons a minute, but it 
is used only in times of drought. 



FOUR ARTESIAN WELLS. 87 

A third Artesian well was drilled six inches in diameter on 
the land of the Honorable William F. Wharton and sunk to 
a depth of three hundred and twenty feet without reaching 
water in any large quantity. With the exception of eight 
feet of earth near the surface, the drilling went through slate 
rock and occasional layers of a formation resembling soap- 
stone. Water in small quantities was found at a depth of 
thirty-five feet, slightly increasing during the next thirty feet, 
but afterward with no gain in the supply, which was about 
fifty gallons an hour. The site of the well was westerly from 
Mr. Wharton's house ; and, as soon as it was clear that further 
drilling was impracticable, another site on the northerly side 
of his house was chosen. This second well was carried to a 
depth of one hundred feet without finding water in sufficient 
quantity. A third well was then begun a short distance 
easterly from the second one, and drilled to a depth of thirty- 
five feet, when water was obtained in abundance. It is the 
one now in use to supply the various buildings on the place, 
and the water is raised by means of a windmill. The well, 
it is estimated, will yield a daily supply of fifteen thousand 
gallons. 

Work on the project was begun in May, 1894, and ended 
in August. The contractor was James Starr, formerly a resi- 
dent of Groton, who has had a large experience in drilling 
wells ; and to his courtesy I am indebted for the facts. 

In the autumn of 1896 a fourth Artesian well, six inches in 
diameter, was drilled by Mr. Starr in the house lot of the late 
Dr. William B. Warren, on the southerly side of his dwelling. 
It was carried through solid rock one hundred and four feet 
below the bottom of his old well nineteen feet deep, from 
which it started, thereby reaching a depth of one hundred 
and twenty-three feet in all. When water was struck, it came 
suddenly and copiously, and was of an excellent quality. 
Work was begun in September, 1S96, and lasted about six 
weeks. 

Artesian wells receive their name from the province of 
Artois, in France., where they were first bored, and where 
they have been common for many years. 



88 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

SHADE AND ORNAMENTAL TREES. 

GOVERNOR BouTWELL kindly furnished me with a copy of 
his paper on " Shade and Ornamental Trees in the Village of 
Groton," which he read before the Groton Historical Society, 
on November 8, 1894. His familiarity with the neighbor- 
hood during three score years, aided by a keen eye for ob- 
servation and by a retentive memory, rendered him a most 
competent person to write on the subject. The paper will 
have an increasing interest, as the years roll by ; and it is 
as follows : — 

It will be sixty years the fifth day of March next since I became 
a resident of Groton, and in no respect has the town been more 
improved than in the multiplication of trees on the sides of streets 
and highways, and in the grounds around the dwellings. 

In the year 1835 the following streets did not exist, viz. : High 
Street, Pleasant Street, Champney Street, Willow Dale, Court Street, 
and Station Avenue. The trees upon those streets have been 
planted from time to time as the streets were establshed. In 1835 
there were no trees upon the Common by the Chaplin school-house, 
and with the exception of an elm by the Mansfield house there 
were none on Hollis Street above the cottage now occupied by Mrs. 
Simeon Ames. 

The old graveyard was bare of trees until 1846. In that year I 
was elected chairman of the board of selectmen, and while in office 
I directed Eliab G. Bolton, who had usually mowed the weeds and 
grass, to save every growth that promised to make a tree. From 
that order have come the trees now growing in the cemetery, with 
the exception of a small number that have been set by friends of 
persons buried in the grounds. 

Going northward on the road towards Hollis and Dunstable 
there were no trees unless the large and beautiful maple by the 
< 'h;impney house may have been an exception. The elms by the 
Dr. Chaplin house [now Mr. Woolley's] had a very considerable size 
at a time as early as I have any recollection of them. 

There were also one or two elms of considerable size in the rear 
of the house now owned by Mrs. Ceorge Blood, but then owned by 
Daniel Shattuck. 

Passing on to Main Street, the first tree of' notable size was a 



SHADE AND ORNAMENTAL TREES. 89 

large ash that stood at the corner of Court and Main Streets, and 
near the Stevens store. It was then aged, and many years ago 
it was cut down. 

Two or three small elms stood in front of the Stevens store, and 
the house now owned by Dr. Warren. The very considerable elm 
at the foot of Colonel Needham's grounds had not been set. Some 
years later, probably between 1840 and 1850, the building 1 after- 
ward known as Liberty Hall was moved from the low land at the 
foot of Willow Dale to the site of the Stevens store. In moving 
the building it was drawn over the young elm, which yielded to the 
weight without any apparent injury. 

The elm that stands near the cottage on the premises of Wm. 
A. Lawrence, known as the Dr. Amos B. Bancroft place, was a 
young tree, a volunteer growing in the old fence. 

On the other side of the street and in front of the Hollingsworth 
place, now owned by Frank- Lawrence Blood, are several large trees 
that were volunteers and owed their continued existence to the fact 
that they were protected by the fence in which they were growing. 
The fence was irregular, as are the trees. One of them is on the 
street side of the fence, two or three are in the Hollingsworth 
grounds, and one or two are in the lot of Mrs. Ames. About the 
year 1840 the county commissioners changed the street lines, and 
the tree by the cottage became private property, and several of the 
trees on the opposite side of the street fell inside of the street lines. 

Following the line of the street on the westerly side there was 
not a tree of any considerable size between the one by the cottage, 
and the elm-trees in the land of Charles Gerrish and to the south- 
east of the house of the Misses Warren. 

From the cottage to the house owned by Mrs. Blitz, widow of 

1 The building was moved in November, 1844, to the corner of Main and 
Court Streets; and during the process it stood for one night over an elm sap- 
ling at the junction of Main and Ilollis Streets, bending it to the ground and 
giving it a permanent list to the westward. The tree was set out a few years 
before by Curtis Shepley, a well-known citizen ; and I rememberwhen, together 
with other lads, we watched the transplanting. After the job was finished, he 
said, " There, boys, Curt. Shepley has done one good thing, even if he has never 
done another." This was seventy years ago, though now it seems only a short 
time. The tree stands near the site of the old town-pump which has disappeared 
since the introduction of water; and I never pass it without thinking of some of 
these facts. The elm still has an inclination to the westward, and is an un- 
recognized memorial to the foresight of a kind-hearted native of the town. Mr. 
Shepley was a son of Wilder and Phebe Shepley ; and he died on March 26, 1845, 
at the age of 55 years, 9 months, and 3 days. — G. 



90 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

Signor Blitz, then the property of Elijah Whiton, there was neither 
tree nor building. About the year 1836, the entire square, including 
the ground where the railway station stands, was sold at auction. It 
was bought by Dr. Bancroft, senior. The price was $125 or $135 
per acre, and it was called the Lewis lot. 

There was not a tree between the entrance to Mr. Geo. D. Brig- 
ham's place, then the property of his father, and the shop on the 
northerly side of the Dix building, then a store kept by Benj. P. Dix. 
The property was owned by Jonathan Loring, whose house stood near 
where the high school building now stands. His workshop, then 
unused, stood near to Bruce's drug store and a few feet to the south. 
Mr. Loring and his wife were not friendly to trees. 

Turning to the north end of the street, I cannot recall the fact of 
the existence of a single tree north of the brook between those near 
the house of Mrs. Geo. Blood and the trees near the junction of 
Court Street and Main Street. The house of Dr. Amos Bancroft 
stood on what is now my lawn, and somewhere near the centre. In 
front and within the street limits, after the alteration of the line, there 
was a large horse-chestnut tree, and also an elm of very considerable 
size. The elm was cut down December 2, 1859, and the horse- 
chestnut was removed into the yard of Mr. Charles Bancroft some- 
what later, when the grade of the sidewalk was lowered. 

The trees about my house have been set since 1850. It is my 
impression that the trees in the yard in front of the house of Mrs. 
Eliel Shumway were set before 1830, and by Mr. Luther Lawrence, 
who built the house. 

In the year 1835 tne trees m tae grounds of the estate of Dr. 
Samuel A. Green had then been recently set by his father, Dr. Joshua 
Green. As to the tree now standing in the south-west corner of the 
lot and near the brick store, I have a distinct recollection of a state- 
ment which I received from Dr. Joshua Green, viz., that he brought 
that tree to his home in his chaise. At about the same time the two 
trees that stood in front of the Henry Woods house were set. In 
1 84 1 they were so small that I dug around them in the hope of pro- 
moting their growth. The fire which destroyed the house, on July 8. 
1892, was a serious injury to the trees ; and since then they have 
been cut down. 

The next trees were the elms in the yard of the Boynton place, now 
owned by Mr. Charles Gerrish. The trees in the street are of later 
origin. The next tree is the elm near the well in the corner of the 
lawn of Mr. Bigelow, then the property of Mr. John Peabody. 



SHADE AND ORNAMENTAL TREES. 91 

In 1835 the Common in front of the First Parish meetinghouse had 
not been fenced in, but the row of elms on the margin of the street 
had been planted at the same time that a double row was planted on 
that side of the street to the house now owned by Mr. John E. Hodg- 
man. Most of the second row have disappeared, but a few of them 
remain in front of the Academy buildings. 

These trees were set by John G. Park and Benjamin Prescott, and 
the work was the earliest systematic attempt to improve the appear- 
ance of the town by the growth of shade and ornamental trees. To 
Mr. Park I am indebted for the statement that Prescott procured the 
trees from a farmer in Brookline, New Hampshire, and paid for them 
with young apple-trees from his father's nursery. The elms in the 
park now called Prescott Square were set at the same time, and by 
the same persons. In front of the Judge Prescott place, more re- 
cently called the Fosdick place, there were two large elms and a 
black-walnut tree. One elm and the walnut remain, but at a time 
previous to 1840, the other elm was blown over. 1 

The magnificent elms in front of the Susan Prescott place, now 
owned by Parker Fletcher, and on both sides of the street and forming 
an arch over it, were then of great size, as were the elms and black-ash 
trees further along on the Boston road, and near the residences of 
George Prescott and Eugene O. Collier. 

In front of the residence of Stuart J. Park, now the residence of 
Mr. Frank F. Woods, there was a gnarled oak that antedated in its 
beginning the settlement of the town probably, and, vigorous as it 
was, it would have withstood the storms of another century. It marked 
the birthplace of Col. William Prescott, and its destruction was only 
less than a public calamity. 

There were elm-trees and one or two mountain-ash trees in front 
of the Academy building now occupied by Mrs. Sibley, and there 
were elm-trees by the other Academy house, now occupied by Rev. 
Dr. Young. The mountain-ash trees have disappeared, but the elms 
can be distinguished readily from their size and marks of age. 

The double row of willows by the road across Broad Meadow were 
set between the years 1846 and 1851. In those years the board of 
selectmen consisted of Joshua Gilson, Pelatiah Fletcher, and myself. 
The railing against the ditches by the roadside had become so im- 

1 This happened, probably, in the year 1836, and during the same gale Mr. 
Osborn's house, then in process of framing just across the way, was blown 
down. — G. 



92 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

paired that a new railing was required. Mr. Joseph Rugg was em- 
ployed to build the new railing, and he was directed to set the willows, 
but with the only thought that they might be a substitute for a railing. 
That end they answer, but they also constitute an avenue of shade and 
beauty. 

The new cemetery was laid out in the year 1847, and thus a bare 
and barren hill was transformed into a park, made attractive even in 
the evidences of death and change by the beauty of the trees that 
have been planted along its ways and avenues. 

In the year 1835 the thought of planting trees by the highway, or 
of preserving those that might spring up, had not taken possession of 
the public mind. 

In the last third of a century a good deal has been accomplished 
in both particulars ; but there is much opportunity for better things, 
especially in the protection and the preservation of the trees that we 
now have. Within the last ten years the telegraph and telephone 
companies have done irreparable damage by the mutilation of trees 
by the roadsides, sometimes within the road limits and sometimes on 
private property. 

Serious injury has been done by abutters who have cut trees, and 
destroyed the lesser growth upon the margins of the roads, and often 
to the damage of their own estates. 

These proceedings should be arrested by the rigid enforcement of 
the law, which is ample for the purpose. I cannot doubt that the 
beauty of the town has been more improved in these sixty years by 
the planting and growth of trees than it has been by the erection of 
new buildings, and the repair and adornment of old ones. 



BOG-ORE. 



BOG-ORE, sometimes called swamp-ore, was found in Groton 
by the earliest settlers of the town, and to a small extent was 
worked by them. In the printed edition of the Early Records 
the following entry is found : — 

Groton : May y c 21"' day : 1688 at y r anueal towne meeting the 
Inhabatan of this towne deed then by the maior uoat grant for the in- 
coregment of such men as will set up Ioran works at masabog pond ; 
that thay shall haue y e ues & improument of the woods and timbr 



BOG-ORE. 93 

y' is now common one the est sid of uncuttanaset brook and so to 
nashua riuer and groton line est ward & south ward to good man 
greens masobog medow for ther incorigment in y e s d worke allways 
prouided y e inhabatnts of y e afere s d towne resarue to y" 1 selus the 
liberty to cut the wood for y e ues of s' 1 works and also for carting of 
y e s d wood or coall prouided y e s' 1 workes be up or seteng up betwen 
this day and the 21 th day of may next; no man inhabiting with in 
y e s d town to be hundred from wodo or timbr for his one ues 

Atest Josiah Parker Clarke 

(Pp. 97,98.) 

A sworn declaration of John Lowwell and Thomas Blan- 
chard.both of Dunstable, is recorded in the Middlesex Regis- 
try of Deeds at East Cambridge (XVIII. 488, 489,) setting 
forth the fact that they were at Massapoag in Groton, on the 
twentieth day of May, 1689, and did "help both to dige for 
& to sett up some part of an Iron Worke." From this record 
it appears that the vote of the town had its desired effect. 

"The Sledges" is the name of a meadow lying northeast 
of Reedy Meadow, and is mentioned in the early records of 
the town. Mr. Butler, in his History (p. 273, note), says: 

" This word seems to signify strips of meadow, or parcels 
of low lands, abounding in iron ore." 

About the year 1768 Jabez Keep, of Westford, established 
a forge and bloomery on the site of Jonas Prescott's first grist- 
mill in Harvard, where ore from the Groton swamps was 
smelted. " His son Jabez and his grandson Jabez, ' bloomers,' 
succeeded him in the business. The latter probably returned 
to Westford and carried on the same business there " : so Mr. 
Nourse, the historian of Harvard, writes me. 

Just before the town of Lowell was incorporated, but dur- 
ing the period when its rapid growth was assured, an iron- 
foundry was established at North Chelmsford, where bog-ore 
was smelted. The supply was furnished largely from towns 
in that neighborhood, and it was carried to the foundry for 
the most part by farmers with their own teams. A consider- 
able amount of native ore was dug from various meadows in 
Groton, principally in the eastern part of the town, and taken 
there to be smelted ; and in this way the farmers during dull 






94 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

times would obtain a little ready money. This foundry is the 
forerunner of the Chelmsford Foundry Company which is 
still doincr business. 



A BAPTISTERY. 

A Baptist Society was organized at Groton on Decem- 
ber 5, 1832, and the Reverend Amasa Sanderson was the first 
minister. Captain Josiah Clark, one of the members, gener- 
ously gave them the use of a commodious hall in the third 
story of a house at the south corner of Main Street and Broad 
Meadow Road. About this time a baptistery was made by 
digging out and damming up a small brook, which was used 
during a few years by the Society for baptismal purposes. It 
was in the neighborhood of Captain Clark's dwelling, and on 
his land, situated within five rods of the Break-Neck Road 
and just south of that highway. The little stream soon crosses 
Common Street and finds its way into Nod Brook. The use 
of this place was given up by the Society many years ago, 
when they went, as occasion required, to the Nashua River to 
perform the rite, and until a baptistery was made in their 
church. The remains of the dam and excavation at this site 
are distinctly visible, though there is now much undergrowth 
in the immediate vicinity ; and a good-sized elm marks the 
spot. 

A place so hallowed in former years by the affections of 
even a small body of Christians, deserves the record of these 
few lines. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF GROTON. 

In the " Transactions of the Massachusetts Society for Pro- 
moting Agriculture" (New Series, Volume I., Part II.), 
published in the year 1859, there appears an "Agricultural 
Survey of Middlesex County," which contains a few items of 
sufficient local interest to be reprinted. The paper, written 
by Dr. Joseph Reynolds, a son-in-law of Dr. Oliver Prcscott, 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF GROTON. 95 

Jr., of Groton, supplements an article entitled "The Geog- 
raphy of Groton," in this volume. After speaking of the 
general direction of the rivers and streams in the County, the 
writer goes on to say : — 

As we go west from the Merrimac, along the northerly line of the 
county, we enter the valley of the Nashua. This is a considerable 
river, and flows through a beautiful section of country. One branch 
of it rises in New Hampshire, and another in Worcester County. It 
enters Middlesex from Lancaster, in Worcester. It divides the easterly 
part of Shirley from Groton ; then crossing the western part of Groton, 
it becomes, for a space, the dividing line between Groton and Pepper- 
ell ; then entering Pepperell, for a mile or two, it divides that town 
from Dunstable. It empties into the Merrimac at Nashua, N. H. 
Its course, after it enters Middlesex, is north by east. It is a rapid 
stream, and furnishes abundant water-power throughout its whole 
course, which is improved in Fitchburg, Lancaster, Shirley, Groton, 
Pepperell, and especially in Nashua, where it furnishes the principal 
motive power for the large manufacturing establishments of that flour- 
ishing city. The soil in the valley of the Nashua is, in general, good. 
The hills which form this valley, especially on the western side, are 
many of them broken and abrupt. They yield excellent pasturage. 
The lower levels, bordering on the river, furnish fertile- mowing lands. 
There is but little intervale land on the Nashua after it enters the 
county, and no wet meadows. The first affluent of the Nashua from 
the west, is the Nissitisset, a short stream, which rises in Poponipos 
[Potanipas] Pond, in Brookline, N. H. This stream enters Pepperell 
on its northern line, and passing through the town in a southeasterly 
direction, reaches the Nashua just above the point where it becomes 
the boundary between Pepperell and Dunstable. This river is about 
10 miles in length, and affords good water-power at several points in 
its course. A few miles to the southwest we find the Squannacook, 
which is the most important affluent of the Nashua. This river rises 
in the hills in Ashby, and crossing Townsend in an easterly direction, it 
turns more to the southeast, and pursues a winding course between the 
northerly part of Shirley and Groton, and enters the Nashua nearly at 
right angles, about two miles northwest of Groton Junction [now Ayer]. 
East of the Nashua is Salmon Brook, which rises in Whitney 's Pond, 
in Groton, and passing through Massapoag Pond, runs a northerly 
course through the town of Dunstable, and reaches the Nashua before 
its entrance into the Merrimac. The valley of the Nashua includes, 



96 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

in the county, the towns of Dunstable, Groton, Shirley, Pepperell, 
Tovvnsend, and Ashby ; and contains some of the best lands in the 
county. Some of the farms on the slaty soils of Groton, Pepperell, 
and Townsend are under high cultivation, and yield abundant crops 
(pp. 162, 163). 

Under the heading of " Geology of the County" Dr. Rey- 
nolds writes : — 

A range of mica-slate extends across the county, through the towns 
of Shirley, Groton, Pepperell, and Townsend. It is also found in 
Dracut and Lowell (p. 171). 

Steatite, or soapstone, is found in Groton. It has been worked to 
some extent. But it is said not to be as easy to work as in some 
localities, owing to the presence of silex (p. 172). 

In connection with the last extract, see an article entitled 
"The Soapstone Quarry." Professor Edward Hitchcock, in 
his " Report on the Geology, Mineralogy, Botany, and Zoology 
of Massachusetts" (Amherst, 1833), says: — 

In Groton is a bed of soapstone on which considerable labor has 
been expended. Its width appears to be 10 or 12 feet, and it descends 
into the earth towards the southeast ; dipping about 30 , and lying 
between layers of mica slate. It is not of the best quality, being some- 
what too hard ; yet its proximity to Boston, Newburyport, and Salem, 
will probably render it an object of importance (p. 32). 



HARD COAL. 

Anthracite Coal for heating a dwelling-house was first 
used in Groton by Aaron Perkins nearly seventy years ago. 
It was before the year 1845, at which time the Fitchburg 
Railroad was built through the southern part of the town. 
According to my recollection, he used it in a grate to warm 
his keeping-room. It was brought from Boston in one of 
the Groton baggage-wagons ; and, of course, the quantity was 
small. Mr. Perkins lived on the east side of Hollis Street, 
near the Brook. 

Governor Boutwell once told me that Mr. Woods had pre- 
viously used hard coal for heating his store. 



THE PUBLIC WELL. 97 

TALLOW DIPS. 

In early times, throughout New England, tallow dips were 
commonly used for purposes of domestic lighting, as their 
cost was so small. Beef tallow was tried out in a big iron 
kettle hanging on a crane in the fireplace; and, while the fat 
was still hot, a piece of wick-yarn about ten inches long when 
doubled, was held by the loop in the middle, and dipped in 
the tallow. It was then hung over a stick and allowed to cool 
and harden. When ready it was dipped again, and so on, 
until it had grown to the proper size. Often a rude frame 
was used, holding a number of wicks, which were dipped in 
rotation, the first candle being ready for a second dip by the 
time that the others had passed through the same process. 
In order to make the tallow firmer and harder, sometimes 
bayberry wax was put into the kettle and melted with the fat. 
Owing to better methods of lighting, and to the cheapness of 
kerosene, the use of tallow dips has now entirely disappeared 
from the economy of house-keeping. By a later method 
these dips were superseded to a great extent by candles run 
in a mould. 



THE PUBLIC WELL. 

The following facts concerning th'e public well in the vil- 
lage were furnished mainly by Colonel Daniel Needham, and 
are of interest. It was through his enterprise and generosity 
that the well was dug, and for his services in the matter the 
public owes him a debt of lasting gratitude. The town pump 
is now so much of a local institution that any details connected 
with its history are worthy of preservation. 

The well is situated near the foot of Colonel Needham's 
lawn, at the junction of Main and Hollis Streets, and was dug 
during the summer of 1867, a remarkably dry season. The 
cost of sinking the well, independently of the stone cover and 
the stone trough, was more than five hundred dollars; and 
of this sum Colonel Needham paid six-tenths, and Ezekiel H. 
Higgins, Richard Pinckney Joy, Dr. Norman Smith, and 



98 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

William Jevvett Boynton each paid one-tenth. Of these men 
now there are no survivors. 

The depth of the well is twenty-eight feet ; the chamber or 
reservoir at the bottom is large and irregular, and seems to 
be in solid rock, although the water drips continually from the 
sides, showing the existence of numerous seams which are 
imperceptible to the naked eye. The first eight feet were 
excavated by picks and spades, and the remaining portion was 
blasted out with powder. The blasting was done under the 
supervision of John Simonds, and no accident occurred as the 
result of this part of the work, although there were on an 
average three blasts daily during much of the time. When 
the springs are full, the depth of water measures about twenty 
feet, but during a drought this is reduced to four feet, more 
or less. The water is very cold and clear, and excellent for 
drinking purposes, and is used the year round by many house- 
holds in the neighborhood, who have no other source of sup- 
ply. In dry seasons more than thirty families are dependent 
upon the well for their water. The stone cover and trough 
were placed at the expense of Colonel Needham. 

The elm overshadowing the pump, also, has a history which 
is worth saving. It was set out many years ago by Curtis 
Shepley. who is still remembered by some of the older people 
of the town. In November, 1844, a large building was moved 
from Hollis Street to the corner of Main and Court Streets, 
and became known as Liberty Hall. During the removal 
this structure remained one night over the small tree, pressing 
it to the ground. On the next day, after the building had 
passed along, the elm righted itself and has stood there ever 
since, though it still has a marked inclination or list to the 
westward, as the direct result of the harsh treatment it re- 
ceived more than sixty-five years ago. Hollis Street, where 
it branches off from Main Street at this point, according to 
the North Star, runs very nearly north and south. 

The use of the public well was superseded by the introduc- 
tion of water on the part of the Groton Water Company, 
incorporated by the Legislature on May 5, 1897. Colonel 
Needham died on February 20, 1895. 



HEIGHT OF SOME GROTON HILLS. 99 

HEIGHT OF SOME GROTON HILLS. 

DURING the summer of 1887 a party of engineers employed 
by the United States Geological Survey perambulated the 
town of Groton and its neighborhood, and took the direction 
of the roads and the elevation of the hills, as a part of the 
topographical survey of the State, which was begun some 
years previously. They also laid down on their charts the 
brooks and ponds, and even the dwelling-houses along the 
roads. From time to time the result of their labors has been 
printed at Washington, on sheets or maps, under the author- 
ity of the Department of the Interior, which is conducting 
the work of the Geological Survey. Each sheet contains a 
group of towns, though without indicating their boundary 
lines, and each sheet is named after some central or promi- 
nent town in the group. The altitudes are shown by con- 
tour intervals of twenty feet, so that the various heights arc 
represented within that distance. 

The Groton Sheet contains the following towns, which are 
here given in their geographical order : Leominster, Lancas- 
ter, Harvard, Littleton, Lunenburg, Shirley, Ayer, Groton. 
Townsend, Pepperell, and Dunstable, in Massachusetts, and 
Mason, Brookline, Hollis, and Nashua, in New Hampshire. 
Through the courtesy of Marcus Baker, Esq., who is con- 
nected with the Division of Geography at Washington, I am 
enabled to give the exact height of the prominent hills in 
Groton, as follows : — 

Chestnut Hills, 544 feet; Indian Hills, 524; Gibbet Hill 
516; Prospect Hill, 503; Snake Hill, 497; The Throne, 484; 
Brown Loaf, 448; Barralock Hill (north of Baddacook Pond), 
422; a hill south of Wattle 's Pond, 412; and a hill west of 
the southerly end of Baddacook Pond, 352 feet. Nonacoicus 
Hill in Ayer is 393 feet high; a hill, near Shirley Village, 
lying in a northwesterly direction, 441 feet ; and a hill, perhaps 
two hundred rods west of Shirley Common, 463 feet. The 
measurement of these altitudes is taken from mean tide on 
the coast line. 



IOO NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

THE GROWTH OF TREES. 

MANY years ago I set out some small trees in my father's 
yard, and at the time I jotted down the date in a current copy 
of the Old Farmer's Almanac. They consisted of a few elms, 
maples, and ash-trees ; and at that time not one of them had 
more than two years' growth. According to the record in 
the almanac, they were transplanted on May 3, 1852; and, 
after a period of forty-five years, I noted the size of the trunks 
of the largest. The measurements of these trees were taken 
by me on July 6, 1897 ; and at a height of four feet from the 
ground they gave a circumference as follows : — 

An elm, six feet two inches; another elm, five feet six 
inches ; an ash, five feet six inches ; a maple, five feet three 
inches; and another ash, four feet six inches. The first elm 
noted in this paragraph was struck by lightning on Sunday, 
June 13, 1897, but fortunately was not damaged to any great 
extent. 

Every tree in my front yard — and there is a large variety 
of kinds — was set out by my father during the last eighty 
years. The elm which stands in the southwest corner of the 
yard, at a height of four feet from the ground, has a circum- 
ference of ten feet and three inches ; and another elm at the 
same height has a circumference of eleven feet and six inches- 
A third tree of a different variety (JJlmus fulvd), standing in 
the same line as the other two, near Mrs. Shumway's fence, 
has a circumference of seven feet eight inches. This seedling 
was given to me about seventy years ago by the late Honor- 
able John Boynton, when it was not more than two inches in 
height, though it was at first set out elsewhere. 

Many years ago Mrs. Anna (Parker) Dodge told me that 
the ash ( Fraxinus) standing on the westerly side of the road, 
perhaps twenty rods beyond the stone which marks the site 
of the first Meeting-house in Groton, was set out by her father 
when she was a very small girl. The tree is still sound, and 
at the butt, four feet from the ground, has a circumference of 
exactly eight feet. In comparison with many other trees the 
ash is of slow growth. Mrs. Dodge was born on October 28, 
1801, and died in Boston, on November 4, 1888. 






MOUNT WACHUSETT. IOI 



MOUNT WACHUSETT. 



It may seem somewhat out of place to put Wachusett in 
this list of Groton names, but the mountain, though miles 
away, is so conspicuous an object and so familiar to every 
resident of the town, that I include it in my scheme. 

The earliest allusion to the Wachusett Mountain is found 
in Governor John Winthrop's Journal, — usually called his 
History of New England, — where the writer gives an account 
of a reconnoitring trip made by himself and some others, on 
January 27, 163 1-2. The party followed up the banks of 
the Charles River to a distance of about " eight miles above 
Watertown," which brought them within the present limits 
of Waltham. The Governor describes with some minuteness 
the main features of the country, and mentions the names 
given by them to several places and points of interest along 
the way. Beaver Brook in Waltham was christened at that 
time, and the name has clung to the stream for nearly three 
hundred years. Mount Feake, standing near the Charles 
River, then also received the name which it still bears. 
Winthrop says : — 

On the west side of Mount Feake, they went up a very high rock, 
from whence they might see all over Neipnett, and a very high hill 
due west, about forty miles off, and to the N. \V. the high hills by 
Merrimack, above sixty miles off. 

Without question the " very high hill " seen from this point 
was the Wachusett Mountain, the highest elevation in Massa- 
chusetts, east of the Connecticut River, and at that time, not 
known to the English by any name. " Neipnett " was another 
form of Nipmuck, which embraced a large territory lying in 
the southern part of Central Massachusetts, and extending 
even into the present limits of Connecticut. The " Nipmuck 
country " is an expression often found in the early history of 
New England, but its boundaries were necessarily very indefi- 
nite. " The high hills by Merrimack " were perhaps those, east 
of the Grand Monadnock, now situated in the townships of New 
Ipswich, Temple, Peterborough, Lyndeborough, and Goffs- 



102 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

town, New Hampshire. If seen from a great distance, these 
separate hills appear to run into one continuous range extend- 
ing to the Merrimack River. 

The next reference to the Wachusett Mountain is also found 
in Winthrop's Journal, under the date of March 7, 1643-4, 
where the writer speaks of " two sachems near the great hill 
to the west called Wachusett," showing that it was then known 
to the English by the present name. 

The word "Wachusett" is of Indian origin, and signifies 
near the hill or mountain. " Wadchu " in the Indian language 
means ///// or mountain, and the affix " sett " means near ox in 
the neighborhood of . The Indians of course applied the word 
to the region, but the early settlers soon restricted its mean- 
ing to the mountain itself. The name of the Commonwealth 
is substantially the same word, with the prefixed adjective 
" Massa," which means great. In the course of time, with 
the natural elision of syllables used in speech, the word has 
become " Massachusetts." The same adjective is found in 
the composition of" Massapaug," well known in Groton as the 
name of a pond near its eastern boundary. "Paug" is the 
Indian word for pond ; so that " Massapaug" in the Indian 
tongue means great pond; and "Massapaug Pond" is a 
duplicated expression. 

The Indians had no written language, and the early settlers 
took the geographical names of the country, by sound, and 
wrote them down accordingly, without knowing their meaning. 
This was phonetic spelling, pure and simple, and explains the 
diversified orthography of Indian words which is so common. 
With an unwritten language the Indians themselves had no 
proper standard of pronunciation ; and their own usage, there- 
fore, in regard to the same words often varied at different 
times. A peculiarity of their language was that the geo- 
graphical names, as applied by them to hills, mountains, 
ponds, rivers, etc., were common nouns and had a meaning, 
but the same words, when used by the English, in the 
course of time became proper nouns and lost their original 
significance. 

In "A Dictionary of Altitudes in the United States" pub- 



DATES OF LOCAL INTEREST. IO3 

lished by the Department of the Interior in the. " Bulletin of 
the United States Geological Survey, No. 5 " (Washington, 
1884), page 136, the height of Wachusett Mountain is given, 
on the authority of Professor Arnold Guyot, as 2,018 feet. 



THE INTRODUCTION OF THE TOMATO. 

The tomato plant {Lycopcrsicum esculentum), now so com- 
mon in every vegetable garden, was first introduced into Groton 
about the year 1840. The young plants, sent to Dr. Joshua 
Green by William Lawrence, Esq., of Boston, were brought to 
this town by Aaron Corey, a well-known stage-coach driver 
of that period, who also acted in the capacity of a modern 
expressman. They were set out by Eliab Going Bolton, an 
experienced gardener, who watched them with great care dur- 
ing their growth. I remember distinctly with what curiosity 
they were regarded by persons interested in such matters ; 
and how the fruit, as it ripened, was carefully distributed in 
the neighborhood for trial and judgment. 

According to my recollection, the verdict at first was an 
unfavorable one; but this has long since been set aside, and 
a later tribunal has decreed otherwise. It has decided that 
the tomato stands on the border-line of necessity, and has 
come to stay. 



DATES OF LOCAL INTEREST. 

The town of Groton first appears on any map in that of 
New England, which is printed in the Reverend William 
Hubbard's "Narrative of the Troubles with the Indians" 
(Boston, 1677). 

The town-clock in the steeple of the Unitarian Meeting- 
house was made by James Ridgeway, and placed in the tower 
sometime during the spring of 1809. It was paid for in part 
by the town and in part by private subscriptions. Mr. 
Ridgeway was a silver-smith and a clock-maker, who during 



104 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

the war with England (1812-1815) carried on a large busi- 
ness in this neighborhood. He afterward removed to Keene, 
New Hampshire, where he lived for many years. His shop 
was situated on Main Street, nearly opposite to the Groton 
Inn, but it disappeared a long time ago. 

The clock in the tower of the Baptist Meeting-house was 
made by the E. Howard Watch and Clock Company, Boston, 
and was first put in running order between three and four 
o'clock, Thursday afternoon, November 18, 1897. Henry 
Win. Whiting did the carpentry, before the placing of the 
timepiece in position. 

A telegraph office in Groton was opened on Saturday, 
March 20, 1880; and the first message along its wires was 
sent to Nashua, N. H. A night operator was appointed in 
the early part of March, 1903. 

A telephone office was first opened on Friday, April 24, 
1 88 1, in the building at the south corner of Main Street and 
Station Avenue. It still remains there, but not in the same 
part of the building. 

The reservoir of the Water Company on Gibbet Hill was 
filled with water for the first time on Monday, November 29, 
1897. 

The double track on the Worcester and Nashua Railroad, 
between Groton and Ayer, was opened for traffic on Monday, 
December 2, 1907, when the first train left Groton at 1 2 o'clock, 
noon. The double track from Groton to Pepperell was opened 
on October 1, 191 1. 

This road was opened originally for regular business through 
its entire length on December 18, 1848, though the section 
from Groton Junction, now Ayer, to Clinton had been pre- 
viously opened on July 3, 1848, and from Clinton to Worcester 
on November 22, of the same year. 

The first train over the straightened track near the station 
was run on Thursday noon, August 18, 1910. 

The new station in the village was first used on March 1, 
191 1. 

The electric light was introduced by the town of Groton on 
November 20, 1909. 



WILD DEER. 105 

GLACIAL STRIATION. 

Nature was the first historian in the world, and her subject 
was physical geography. She was not a rapid writer, as it 
took ages upon ages for her to form her characters which 
modern science has taught us how to read. She never would 
have been a successful editor of a daily newspaper, who is 
expected to write a learned leader for each issue of his paper. 
During the glacial period while New England was covered 
with ice, Nature sharpened her pen and took notes. When 
the ice melted, she had left messages on the rocks and in the 
mountains which are as legible to-day as the pages of Herodo- 
tus or other classic historians. 

I am led to make these remarks as some notes of her work 
may still be found by the wayside on the old road to Ayer. 
Soon after passing Sumner Graves's house, — as laid down on 
the map at the end of Mr. Butler's History, — and going down 
the hill, toward Flanagan's Crossing, a large rock or ledge 
crops out on the right-hand side of the way, nearly opposite 
to the granite quarry. On the surface of this rock are the 
traces of some beautiful glacial striation together with the 
smoothing process caused by the rubbing of stones on 
the surface. The general direction of these grooves is from 
the north-west to the south-east. 

An old Grotonian who had sailed out of New Bedford har- 
bor in a whaler once told me that the outcropping of this 
ledge on the surface always reminded him of a whale's back 
at sea. 



WILD DEER. 



In recent years by legislative enactment the Commonwealth 
has thrown its protecting arm around wild deer; and conse- 
quently within the limits of the State this breed of animals 
has increased in a prolific manner. Twenty years ago in this 
neighborhood a deer roaming through the meadows or feed- 
ing in the pastures was a sight never witnessed, while to-day 
herds of considerable numbers are seen at intervals, Miss 



106 j NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

Elizabeth S. Hill tells me that she has counted eleven deer, 
including bucks, does, and fawns in a herd at one time, though 
they were so scattered about that they could not be taken 
with a kodak. She tells me furthermore that eighteen deer 
and twenty-three deer have been seen at one time by others ; 
and that she sees almost daily two does and two fawns. 

I give below certain items taken from the Groton Historical 
Series of different dates, which relate to the appearance of 
deer in Groton. 

A WILD DEER IN GROTON. 

r Within the past week a wild deer has been seen several times in 
Groton and some of the neighboring towns. He has evidently got 
astray from his own kindred, and it is hoped that he will not be killed 
by some ambitious sportsman. 

'■Boston Evening Journal/' August 20, 1892. 

WILD DEER. 

In The Journal of the 20th the presence of a wild deer in the town 
of Groton was noted as a remarkable occurrence. It has since been 
learned that Mr. John H. Whitcomb of Ayer saw in that town on the 
28th of August a red deer of about 150 pounds in weight. Its antlers 
were in velvet, having one prong each, and they were about a yard 
long. Mr. Whitcomb was some 40 yards off when he first saw the 
deer, but a few minutes later when the animal, approaching a build- 
ing, became so frightened as to turn and pass the other way, it came 
within five or six yards of the observer. It is said that a deer was 
recently seen swimming a lake in Ashburnham. Whether this is the 
same deer or whether there are several in the woods around the 
vicinity of Groton is not known. Perhaps some hunter can give 
information on that point. 

"Boston Morning Journal, September 10, 1892. 

According to the testimony of some of the oldest inhab- 
itants of Groton, this is, probably, the only wild deer seen 
within the limits of the town during the present century. The 
local newspapers report that deer have been seen at several 
places in New Hampshire, where they have not been found 
for a long period. 



WILD DEER. 107 

WILD DEER. 

MOSELY GlLSON, who lives on the Lowell Road, about half 
a mile from the First Parish Meeting-house, tells me that in 
the year 1894, late in the summer or early in the autumn, his 
wife saw a wild deer on the easterly side of Gibbet Hill, near 
his house ; and that a few days later his hired man saw one, 
presumably the same deer, in the meadow opposite to his 
house. 

Within a few years deer have been seen at different times 
in the northern part of Middlesex County, and in the southern 
part of New Hampshire, showing the good effect of the game 
laws as applied to that beautiful creature. 

WILD DEER. 

DURING the year 1897 wild deer were seen in Dunstable 
Tyngsboro and Chelmsford, and I have talked with various 
persons who saw them. Since June 8, deer have been seen 
in Groton on three different occasions. These repeated in- 
stances of their appearance in the northern part of this Com- 
monwealth in modern times show their natural increase, due, 
doubtless, to the protection they receive from the State of 
New Hampshire, whence they migrate over the boundary line, 
and to the further protection here given. 

WILD DEER. 

On June 8, 1897, rather early in the morning, Wheeler 
Wilson Ames, who lives in the Rocky Hill School District of 
Groton, saw a deer feeding in the meadow in front of the 
Shattuck homestead, a short distance southeasterly from 
Martin's Pond. On being discovered the deer ran and dis- 
appeared over the northern slope of Gibbet Hill, and soon 
afterward was seen in the outskirts of the village heading for 
the Four Corners below the soapstone quarry. 



IOS NATURAL HISTORY AXD TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTOX. MASS. 



-THE NECK." 

In the town-records, as early as February 17, 1670, a refer- 
ence is made " to the neck upon the riuer." This is an allu- 
to a peninsula that once belonged to Amos Farnsworth's farm. 
It was formed by a long bend in the Nashua River. — perhaps 
a hundred and thirty rods around, — and joined to the main 
land by a neck, probably not more than thirty rods wide. At 
a period near the middle of the last century, very likely dur- 
ing a January thaw or a spring freshet, it was entirely severed 
from the farm, by the river's breaking through the neck, thus 
leaving an island of perhaps twenty acres, now partially cov- 
ered with a growth of pines. The late Honorable Claudius 
Buchanan Farnsworthj of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, who was 
born and passed his early life in the immediate neighborhood 
of this particular place, once told me that, during his boyhood- 
his grandfather, Major Amos Farnsworth. used to relate how 
the affair happened, though it was before his grandfather's 
recollection, and he was born on April 28, 1 ""54. The Ma- 
jor's father, Amos. Senior, had previous!)" owned the neck or 
peninsula, and it was during his ownership that the new chan- 
nel was formed. He continued to hold it, until the day of his 
death, which occurred on December 5, 1775. by the upsetting 
of a boat, in which he and his youngest son, Benjamin, were 
crossing over the river to this very island, where both were 
drowned. 

It is highly probable that the neck was cut through, and 
the rmed, during a freshet which took place in Janu- 

751. In a note-book kept for many years by Joseph 
Farwell, of Groton, is the following entry: — 

the 2a, 1750-1 their was ran of Rain 

and wind to that Degree that it Blew down 4 Bams and one b 
and Rent a Grate Xuinber of Barns and other Building I I il De- 
. that the oldest person Now Living Cant Rember the Like. 

The following extract is taken from " The Boston Weekly 
News-Letter," January 51, 175 1, and undoubtedly refers to 






DESTRUCTIVE TORNADO. IO9 

the same freshet, though the date there given differs from the 
one mentioned by Mr. Farwell. Perhaps in his note-book he 
wrote down the time of entry instead of the date of occurrence. 

Since our last we have receiv'd further Accounts of the Damges 
sustain'd in the last Storm, 

Particularly from Westerly in Rhode Island Colony, we here a 
House was blown down, and one Man kill'd ; and from Lancaster, that 
a Barn there was blown down, and a Horse and six Sheep kill'd. 

Also from Groton in the County of Middlesex, that on [Wednesday] 
the 1 6th Instant, there was a very great Flood, such as has not been 
known for several Years past, and that many Hundred Pounds Damage 
has been done thereby to the Bridges, &c. it took the Bridge which 
stood a cross Lancaster-River, so called, intirely off; which is the 
fourth Bridge the Town of Groton has built in about 28 years 
last past. 



DESTRUCTIVE TORNADO. 

THE following description of a destructive tornado in War- 
wick, Massachusetts, on September 9, 1821, was written by 
the postmaster of that town. It is given in a letter addressed 
to the late Caleb Butler, Esq., under these circumstances. 

An account book had been picked up by the wayside near 
Sandy Pond, in the south part of Groton. It was found by 
the late Eliab G. Bolton, who judged, from the pieces of 
shingles and other rubbish scattered about, that there had 
been a severe gale in the neighborhood, and the fragments 
brought here by the wind. The book was fourteen inches in 
length, five and a half in width, and nearly half an inch in 
thickness. It had a pasteboard cover, on which was written, 
in a large and clear handwriting, " Blotter, 1802." The book 
was given to Mr. Butler, who, on hearing of the tornado at 
Warwick, wrote to the postmaster of that town about it, and 
received in reply the following letter. By a coincidence the 
postmaster happened to be the very man who had made and 
lettered the Blotter nearly twenty years before. The shortest 
distance between Warwick and Groton is forty-five miles, and 
the fragments, carried at a great height, must have gone much 



110 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

farther even than this. The exact time of their falling is not 
known, as it occurred after dark. 

Warwick October 1821 — 
Caleb Butler Esq. 

Sir — Yours of the 24 th Ult. was received in due course of mail 
— stating that clapboards shingles books <.vc. had been found in the 
fields in Groton, which were supposed to be carried from Warwick 
by the wind in the late Tornado. There is no doubt of the fact, as 
there has been found in Winchendon and Fitchburg large quantities 
of the ruins of buildings that went from this place. 

The daybook mentioned in your letter was the property of Eben- 
ezer Willson, who at the time of the dates, kept a tavern in this 
place. — He commenced business on the 1- day of April 1802 — 
about which time it is probable, the accounts in the book begin — 
according to the description you give of the book, it was made & 
letter'd on the cover, by my own hand. A leaf of Willson 's Ledger 
was picked up in Winchendon containing an account against myself & 
James Ball in the year 1802, which is probably posted from the day- 
book in your possession — If so, you will find me charged with 1 cwt. 
hay April 5^ — 50 — [cents] May 6- 74"' hay, 34 & August 12 
2 Pts brandy, 58. — 

I am well acquainted with all the names you mention, and the 
charges against them will give you a very good idea of the character 
& habits of some of them. Said Willson removed from this place to 
Upper Canada, and left his accounts & papers with his father (Jona- 
than Willson) in this town, whose Dwelling-house, Barn & out Build- 
ings were all demolished, and the greatest part of their contents carried 
away by the late Tornado. Those buildings in the centre of the track 
of the Whirlwind, were more exposed to its ravages, than any others 
in its whole extent. I visited this place about an hour after the wind 
had passed, but have it not in my power to picture to your view, this 
field of desolation — everything was swept close to the ground, and 
that considerably torn up. The orchard was carried all away — 
scarcely a tree within sight, and the heavy stone walls were level with 
the earth. From the best information I can obtain, those buildings 
we[re] demolished in less than 10 seconds of time. The family, six 
in number, who were all in the house, were providentially saved from 
instant death. Two boys escaped without injury, the other four were 
taken up much bruised and wounded — one was found in the cellar, 
one was taken up in the wind, and after being knocked about by the 



DESTRUCTIVE TORNADO. Ill 

flying timbers, fell a little distance from where the house stood — the 
other two were found in different directions, among the small quantity 
of ruins that remained on the ground. Their confinement is a very 
great addition to their other sufferings. Many others have suffered 
severely, and some have lost, perhaps, a greater amount of property, 
but no others have suffered the loss of every thing that is necessary 
for upholding life, and at the same time deprived of their own exer- 
tions to save the scatter'd remnants, or provide a shelter for the ap- 
proaching inclement season. When we look for the Buildings «S: 
conveniences of fifty years industry and prudence, and find nothing, 
and when we enquire for the subjects of this calamity and are con- 
ducted to their beds where they are confined to pain & anxious so- 
licitude, the stoutest heart withdraws in tears, to wash away an 
accumulated load of sympathetic sorrows. 

The people in this place are doing what they can, to repair the loss 
of all the sufferers. The town has appropriated $700, for their imme- 
diate necessities ; but the loss is so extensive, that it seems impossible 
for the people here, to grant the relief which their situations require, 
and repair the damages which the sufferers have sustained. We count 
five Dwelling houses and thirteen Barns, together with a great number 
of other buildings, which were demolished, and their contents broken 
to pieces and scattered over a vast extent of territory : to this calam- 
ity we may add, a very great amount of Property destroyed, in wood, 
timber, orchards, fences and domestic animals. If any of the calam- 
ities to which the human family are subject, ever demanded the charity 
of the Public, I think this is one of the number; and I am requested 
by the Central Committee in this town, viz. Justus Russell Esq. Joshua 
Atwood & Josiah Procter, thro this medium, to solicit of the inhab- 
itants of the town of Groton such assistance as they may feel disposed 
to grant to the sufferers in this place. You, sir, will have the good- 
ness to communicate to the Selectmen, or other proper persons, the 
desire of the aforesaid Committee. Your compliance will confer a 
signal favour upon your friend & Very Humble Servant, 

Wm Cobb 

The letter is addressed on the outside to 

Caleb Butler Esq r 
Groton Ms. 

and franked in the right-hand upper corner thus: — 

Free — Wm. Cobb P. M. 
Warwick Ms* — 1 



112 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

The tornado happened on a Sunday afternoon, between five 
and six o'clock ; and the dark, heavy cloud betokening the 
event was noticed by several persons at Groton. I was told 
by the late Dr. Amos B. Bancroft, that Mr. Butler himself saw 
the cloud from Walter Dickson's house on Farmers' Row, 
where he and others were engaged at the time in practising 
singing for the Sunday evening exercises. The Blotter and 
Mr. Cobb's letter have been given to the Groton Historical 
Society. An account of this tornado is found in Blake's His- 
tory of Warwick, which says that " a part of a leaf [?] of an 
account-book was found in Groton, about sixty miles from the 
house where it was deposited in a chamber" (p. 107). The 
distance as given by Mr. Blake is somewhat exaggerated. 

"The Massachusetts Spy" (Worcester), September 12, 
gives the following description of the gale: — 

On Sunday afternoon last [September 9], about 6 o'clock, a 
most destructive tornado was experienced in Northfield, Warwick 
and Orange, in the County of Franklin. It commenced near the 
middle of the town of Northfield, passing with desolating fury, in a 
direction nearly east, until it was arrested by "Tully's Mountain." 
about two miles north of Athol Meeting-House. It first struck 
and demolished a house and barn in Northfield — and thence passed 
to the easterly part of that town, and destroyed the house of Chapin 
Holton, seriously injuring him. From Northfield it passed into War- 
wick, completely demolishing, in its course, the house of a Mr. Brown, 
a daughter of whom, about fourteen years of age, perished in its ruins 

— and the barn and out-buildings of a Mr. Ball. A little distance 
east of Mr. Ball's, in Orange, a house, two barns, and a blacksmith's 
shop, all belonging to Mr. Smith, fell prostrate before the blast. 
The family, consisting of eleven individuals, escaped death by re- 
treating to the cellar — all, save one, a young woman by the name of 
Stearns, who was crushed to death by the falling timber. Several 
others were, however, so seriously injured that their lives are 
despaired of. 

We have not room nor time, at the late hour at which we write, to 
detail the numerous circumstances which, we learn, attended this des- 
olating whirlwind. The width of its ravages was from 40 to 60 rods 

— its length about ten miles. So resistless was its force that the stout- 
est trees were up-rooted, stone fences removed, immense rocks torn 



DESTRUCTIVE TORNADO. 113 

from their beds, and even the surface of the earth itself broken up, as 
if with "the plough-share of destruction." 

"The Massachusetts Spy," September 26, contains an ac- 
count, taken from the Concord (N. H.) Patriot, of another 
violent hurricane that swept through the towns of Croydon, 
Wendell, New London, Sutton, and Warner, New Hampshire, 
at nearly the same hour this tornado burst forth in Franklin 
County. They lie about fifty miles away, in a northerly 
direction from Warwick. 

During the preceding century a severe hurricane occurred 
in the West Parish of Groton, now known as Pepperell, of 
which an account appears in " The Boston Weekly Post-Boy, " 
August 15, 1748. It is as follows: — 

Groton, West-Parish, July 30. 1748. 
We had here, last Thursday, the 28th Instant, a terrible Hurricane, 
with shocking Thunder. The Course of the Whirlwind was from 
South to North, tho' often varying, sometimes bearing to the East 
and sometimes to the West. It has torn up a vast Number of large 
Trees by the Roots, twisted others off in the midst, took up and 
carry'd away some Apple Trees to such a Distance that they could 
not readily be found, remov'd some large Logs from the Ground, and 
carry'd them to some Distance from the Place where they lay ; en- 
tirely demolishing two or three Buildings, taking off part of the Roofs 
of some, moving others a Foot or two from the Foundation : It hath 
carried away a considerable part of the Roof of the Meeting-House, 
threw down the Fences, Stone-Walls, laid the Corn even with the 
Ground ; the Air was fill'd with Leaves, Hay, Dust, Pieces of Timber, 
and Boughs of Trees of considerable bigness, for a Quarter of an Hour, 
which was the Time it was in passing thro' the Parish ; one House 
which it took in its Way was garrison'd ; one Side of the Garrison was 
thrown with great Violence against the House, the other Sides levell'd 
with the Ground, and part of the House carry'd away : There was a 
Woman and three small Children in the House, who were all wonder- 
fully preserved, from receiving the least Hurt. Notwithstanding the 
great Desolation made among us, there was not Life lost, thro' the di- 
vine Goodness, tho' many Persons were in imminent Danger. We 
have not yet heard where it began ; it went quite thro' the Parish ; 
it's Impetuosity ceased near the Line between Hampshire and this 



114 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

Province, which is not far from us. Damage sustain'd by one Man is 
very considerable, what in the Destruction of his Buildings, Corn, 
Hay, Fences, &c. he has lost above 500/. 

This description was written, undoubtedly, by the Reverend 
Joseph Emerson, the minister of the West Parish at that time, 
as it is substantially the same as the one given in the parish 
records, according to Mr. Butler's History (pp. 347, 348). 



THE SOAPSTONE QUARRY. 

Tins quarry was discovered, in the year 1828, by John 
Fitch on his farm in Groton, situated a mile north of the 
village. He worked it in a small way for several subsequent 
years, sawing the stone by hand at a shop by the roadside, 
near his house ; but afterward he built a steam mill at the 
quarry, forty or fifty rods away. In the year 1855 tne estab- 
lishment was bought of the Fitch heirs by the Honorable 
Samuel Adams, of Townsend, and Daniel McCaine, and dur- 
ing 1857 the quarry was worked by Mr. Adams. 

In May, 1858, Mr. McCaine, with his twin brother, David, 
and another brother, William, removed from Francestown, 
New Hampshire, to Groton, and took charge of the business, 
Mr. Adams having died on April 5 of that year. They en- 
larged the shop, improved the machinery, and worked the 
quarry on a grand scale. In the spring of 1859 the building 
was burned down, and on the same site another and larger one 
was put up. 

In 1 861 the Adams heirs sold out their interest to the 
McCaine brothers, who continued the business till September, 
1864, when the mill was again burned. The next month the 
property was sold to a stock company, known as the Groton 
Soapstone Company, which represented a capital of $100,000. 
Just before the formation of this company, a "Statement" 
regarding the location and value of the property was printed, 
accompanied by reports from the Superintendent, Daniel 
McCaine, and the State Assayer, Dr. Charles Tracy Jackson, 



THE SOAPSTONE QUARRY. 1 1 5 

on the resources of the quarry. Their estimates were liberal, 
and showed, on paper, that large profits would result from 
investments in the company. 

In the summer of 1865 the new company completed their 
mill, which was 80 by 50 feet in dimensions, with engine- 
house attached. It was run by a Corliss engine of 75 horse- 
power, and contained six gangs of saws. It had the latest 
improvements in machinery, and was considered the best- 
equipped and largest- factory of its kind in the country. 

During the year 1867 the McCaine brothers, who were 
still in charge of the quarry, invented and patented a process 
for making artificial stone. The patent was subsequently 
sold to the Groton Soapstone Company, which soon afterward 
became the Union Stone Company. For a while the new 
process was considerably used in connection with the soap- 
stone, and finally became the exclusive business of the com- 
pany. The affairs of the corporation, however, did not seem 
to prosper, and, dividends not forthcoming, the establishment 
was abandoned and dismantled. The capital stock was then 
increased, and another mill built at Revere, near Boston, 
where artificial stone was made under the patent. 

The following account is taken from " The Groton Herald," 
May 29, 1830: — 

Groton Soap-Stone Quarry. — An extensive quarry of Soap-stone 
was discovered in this town, about two years since. It is on the land 
of Mr. J. Fitch, who was led to the discovery by accident, and com- 
menced penetrating into it immediately, with considerable success. 
We have seen some specimens of the stone, that has been wrought 
into hearths, which retains a beautiful polish — and we understand 
that while the workmen penetrate deeper into the rocky caverns, the 
stone becomes more pure and valuable, and promises an inexhaustible 
supply. The quarry is opened on the side of a hill, in two or three 
places, and the descent from the top is about forty feet, over project- 
ing crags and huge blocks of stone, above which stands a forest of tall 
trees — the whole forming a grand and pleasing scene. The trees are 
seldom felled, and as farther researches are made into the earth, they 
often fall to the bottom of the cavity and are drawn out in the manner 
that stone is taken from the opening of the quarry. New discoveries 



Il6 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

are made almost daily, and we should judge from the appearance of 
what has already been done, that it is but a slight introduction to a 
vast territory of stone, of a very valuable kind. 

Some minerals have also been found in this place. Particles of iron 
ore may be seen among the stones, and black lead has been picked 
up in considerable quantities — and minerals of different colors, spark- 
ling among the rocks and waters, can be distinctly discerned. Sev- 
eral springs gush from between the crags, and the water has filled the 
bottom of the quarry so as to delay the work, in one or two places ; 
but this obstruction is shortly to be remedied by fixing pumps to take 
away the water, and greater progress will doubtless be made the ensu- 
ing Summer, than formerly. 

The situation of this quarry is remarkable for its beautiful and ro- 
mantic scenery — the wildness of nature which presents itself in vary- 
ing scenes, and the rich groves and forests that appear on every side. 
After leaving the road we are led about a half mile, over valleys and 
variegated hills, till the path begins to be lined by huge pieces of Stone 
that have been drawn from their bed in immense quantities, and thrown 
aside like the worthless covering of a more valuable substance. The 
quarry is hidden from the view by towering trees that overshadow it, 
until winding along the rocky path, we stand before a damp and craggy 
place that opens at once upon us ; here are heard the sounds of work- 
men, who are employed in purging from the bowels of the earth this 
stony substance — some of which is so soft as to yield to the pressure 
of the fingers, while other kinds are of a much harder nature. The 
whole is remarkably smooth and soap-like, and Mr. Fitch owes his 
discovery to the fact that a part of a stone adhered to his axe, as he 
struck it inadvertently, while cutting wood on his farm. Many frag- 
ments were scattered over the surface of the ground at the time, but 
they had never excited attention until this late period. 

An attempt was made, more than fifty years ago, to dig 
down on Mr. Needham's land eighty or ninety rods to the 
southward of the quarry, in order to strike the vein of soap- 
stone. Many days of fruitless labor were thus spent, but the 
clip of the stone was too deep to be reached. 

Mr. Fitch's first shop by the roadside was originally 
attached to Major William Swan's house, — which is now 
occupied by Charles Woolley, Jr., on the north side of the 
Common near the burying-ground, — and at the end of the 
eighteenth century was used as a store. 



GIBBET HILL. 



WOODS OF GROTON. 



I HAVE seen a printed slip, containing on one side a list of 
the " Woods of Groton," and on the other some suggestions 
in regard to " Reading." The list comprises 108 names of 
different trees and woody shrubs, and was made by James T. 
Bennett, at that time a member of the High School, who had 
collected specimens of each kind mentioned. It was the re- 
sult of a recommendation to the scholars, and is referred to 
in the " Annual Report of the School Committee of the Town 
of Groton, for the year ending March, 1885 " (p. 8). 



GIBBET HILL. 



A QUERY relative to this Hill appeared on page 388 of 
"Notes and Queries" (London), May 16, 1896; and several 
answers to the same were printed on page 432 in the issue of 
May 30. 

Gibbet Hill is the name of an eminence overlooking the village 
of Groton, Massachusetts, which has been so called from the ear- 
liest history of the town. The tradition is that once an Indian was 
gibbeted on its summit ; but this is known now to be false. I have 
a notion that the name was brought from home by the original set- 
tlers, and given to the hill, perhaps from its resemblance to some 
other hill in the old country. I wish to ask if this is a name ever 
or often applied to hills in England. S. A G. 

Gibbet Hill (8 th S. ix. 388). — There is a well-known Gibbet 
Hill on the road from Coventry to Kenilworth. H. K. 

In Halifax a number of the principal thoroughfares are called 
lanes, — e.g., King Cross Lane, Hanson Lane, Pellon Lane, Gibbet 
Lane. All these rise gradually from the centre of the town. The 
latter is occasionally referred to by old inhabitants as Gibbet Hill. 
At the foot of it, in a cul-de-sac, the dungeon still exists, I believe, if 
not the gibbet. Gibbet law, or hanging, was at one time in vogue 
in Halifax, and administered against persons found guilty of steal- 



Il8 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

ing pieces (/. <?., rolls) of cloth. The old Piece Hill, or cloth 
merchants' market, is still extant, but has been spoiled by an admin- 
istration regardless of old associations. J. H. W. 
[See « Halifax Law,' 8 th S. viii. 368, 410 ; ix. 92, 353.] 

Gibbet Hill seems a common name for hills, at any rate in 
some parts of England. I can recall two so named within a com- 
paratively short distance from one another — viz., Gibbet Hill, a 
short distance outside Coventry, on the Kenilworth road, and 
Gibbet Hill, near Lutterworth, on which hill the road from that 
place to Rugby crosses that old Roman road called the Watling 
Street. In both of these cases it is traditionally said that gallows 
were formerly erected by the roadside at the summits of the hills. 

G. H. P. 

Although the following brief extract from that interesting book, 
" Historical Essays from Paris, translated from the French of M. de 
Saintfoix," 1767, Vol. i. p. 121, does not afford a direct answer to 
the query of S. A. G., yet it is suggestive, and tends to throw some 
light on the subject: — 

" Gibet. A corrupt word from Gebel, which signifies in Arabic a 
mountain. In former times, criminals were executed in France 
upon high grounds, that the punishment inflicted might be seen at 
a great distance." W. I. R. V. 



SOME ROADS AND STREETS. 

TlIE roads in Groton were laid out at first to meet the needs 
of individual families. The use of them was confined to the 
inhabitants, as there was no other public to accommodate. 
The various house-lots had been selected by their owners 
with reference to convenience for tillage, or some other local 
advantage; and these were to be connected by highways. 
The roads originally were of great width, often being four or 
six rods wide, and the bends and turns in them, for the most 
part, were owing to good reasons. At the present time even, 
in some places, the highway still shows the original width of 
six rods. Perhaps a tree or some other obstruction would 



SOME ROADS AND STREETS. II9 

make a crook in the road ; and in the course of time the cause 
might disappear, but the effect would remain. Inconsequence 
of their width, encroachments have often been made by the 
abutters ; and on various occasions the town has appointed 
committees to prevent such trespasses, and to prosecute the 
offenders. The committees, however, generally settled with 
them by receiving payment for the land. 

The following streets were accepted by the town, on the 
dates given respectively after each one : — 

Station Avenue January 15, 1849. 

Willowdale Street .... November 12, 1849. 

Court Street April 2, 1855. 

Champney Street November 6, 1888. 

The easterly end of Pleasant Street, from the junction of 
Elm Street, was laid out by the County Commissioners on 
August 20, 1834, and at the same time that part of the Lowell 
Road which runs on the north side of the First Parish Meeting- 
house. High Street, now known as Powder House Road, has 
never been accepted by the town. The road from the Paper- 
mill Village to 'Tuity Row was accepted on March 4, 1845. 

There is in the library of the Massachusetts Historical 
Society a map entitled " The Seat of War, in New England, 
by an American Volunteer, with the Marches of the Several 
Corps sent by the Colonies towards Boston, with the Attack 
on Bunker's Hill." It was made soon after the Battle, and in- 
cludes the eastern half of Massachusetts, nearly all of Rhode 
Island, the southern part of New Hampshire, and the eastern 
border of Connecticut. It gives the various townships as well 
as the main thoroughfares converging at Boston, and in a rude 
way it shows troops from various colonies on their march to 
that neighborhood. The " Road from Stephens Fort and 
Crown P! " which passes through the village of Groton, is 
represented on the map. Stephen's Fort was situated in 
Charlestown on the Connecticut River. " Rangers from New 
Hampshire " are shown along this route, and an " Incamp- 
ment " is represented at Worcester, with " New York Grena- 
diers," " Virginian Horse," etc., in the neighborhood marching 



120 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

toward Cambridge. Groton Gore in New Hampshire is also 
represented, and appears under the name of Groton. 



On April 7, 1873, the town voted that the Selectmen be 
instructed to establish Street Lamps in the village. Between 
that date and November, 1889, the number was gradually in- 
creased until there were sixty-eight such lamps. At the same 
meeting it was also voted to build a lock-up for prisoners. 
As early as the spring of 1861, a similar lock-up was ordered 
to be built at South Groton (now Ayer). 



OXEN. 

I AM told on good authority that to-day there are only three 
pair of oxen in Groton, while in my boyhood they were 
counted by hundreds. Every considerable farmer then had 
in his barn two or three yoke of oxen and one or two pair 
of steers. After a big snow-storm in winter it was the cus- 
tom often to join together two ox-sleds, side by side, and 
hitch up a team of thirty or forty yoke, four oxen abreast. 
Then the farmers would drive through the deep drifts and 
break out the roads in the district. Sometimes they would 
come into the village with the long team and many drivers. 
It used to be great sport for the boys to get a ride on the 
sleds, which were always crowded with men and youngsters. 
This work did not cost the town any money, but was prompted 
solely by a neighborly interest in the welfare of others. 

From time to time a " beef crittur " would be fattened and 
killed for meat, and thus help to eke out the expenses of the 
farm. A pair of steers would soon be ready to take the 
place of a yoke of oxen. 

According to returns made by the Assessors of the town 
to the Commonwealth in the year, 1845, there were 1445 
"neat cattle" in the town, but of this number many were 
cows. 



OLD MILL-SITES IN GROTON. 121 



BOSTON GRAMMAR SCHOOLS. 

The Bigelovv School and the Lawrence School were both 
named after natives of Groton. They are schools for boys 
and situated in South Boston. The first one was so called 
after John P. Bigelow, mayor of the city, and the other after 
Amos Lawrence, a well-known citizen. 



OLD MILL-SITES IN GROTON. 

The distinct traces of an old dam on James's Brook at 
Groton are to be seen on the easterly side of the road to Ayer, 
near the extreme limits of the town. They are found on the 
farm, known formerly as the Benjamin Moors place, but lat- 
terly owned by Nathan F. Culver. The excavations of earth, 
below the dam, for the purpose of filling-in the stones, are 
clearly visible ; and even the size of the mill-pond can be 
made out. None of the aged people, whose recollection goes 
back to the early part of the present century, could tell any- 
thing in regard to the mill that stood on this site. It is not 
mentioned by Dr. Oliver Prescott, Jr., in his survey of the 
town made in the year 1794, which carefully notes all the 
mills at that time. James's Brook was once a much larger 
stream than it is now, and in particular places furnished 
considerable water-power. 

This farm was bought of John Farnsworth, by Abraham 
Moors, the grandfather of Benjamin ; and the deed, dated 
February 5, 1716— 17, is duly recorded in the Middlesex Reg- 
istry of Deeds (Book XXIII. p. 47) at East Cambridge. 
From this record the following description of land is taken, 
which furnishes a clew to the desired information : — 

Several parcels of upland & Swampy Low land all Situate lying & 
being within the Bounds and Limits of the Township of Groton in 
the county and province afores'd containing in all by Estimation 



122 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

One hundred & Sixty acres more or less Improv' 1 Thirty acres more or 
less oi mill pond Swamp & upland with a three quarter part of an old 
Saw mill thereupon [the Italics are mine] now standing and it is 
Bound Northwardly upon a high way that leadeth to a farm that is 
called by the Name of Coycus ffarm Eastwardly with the Lands of 
Josiah Farnsworth Southerly upon Davis's Land & Westerly upon 
Saw mill Lands &c. 

Here we have a distinct reference to this very mill, which 
identifies it beyond doubt; and it is interesting to note that 
even then, nearly two hundred years ago, it was called " an 
Old Saw mill." " Coycus ffarm " is the abbreviated spelling 
of Nonacoicus farm, which had previously belonged to Major 
Simon Willard. The highway, mentioned in the description, 
is the present road from Groton to Ayer. A record of John 
Farnsworth's lands in the Middlesex Registry of Deeds (XIII. 
336), on May 10, 1700, refers to his " Saw Mill Land," which 
was without question this parcel, showing that he owned it at 
that time. 

Going back to a still earlier date, in a description of Farns- 
worth's lands, on December 9, 1680, as found in "The Early 
Records of Groton" (p. 182), reference is made to "a pece of 
swamp land, lyeing betwixt the pond at John Page's saw-mill 
and the bridg that goe to Nonicoycus, bounded round by 
the town's comon land." Undoubtedly Page's saw-mill, here 
mentioned, was the same as Farnsworth's, as the sites of the 
two appear to be identical; and "the bridg that goe to 
Nonicoycus " is still standing over James's Brook, very near 
the bed of the old mill-pond. Page's mill was built probably 
soon after the re-settlement of the town in the year 1678; 
and this dam furnishes, perhaps, the earliest trace of man's 
work that can be identified within the limits of Groton or its 
neighborhood. 

Many years ago John Chamberlain had a saw-mill on Mar- 
tin's Pond Brook, near the foot of Brown Loaf on its northerly 
side. He was known about here as " Paugus John," from the 
fact of his killing the Indian chief Paugus, in Lovewell's Fight 
at Pequawket, on May 8, 1725. An account of this action 



OLD MILL-SITES IN GROTON. 



123 



is found in Chapter IV. of " Groton during the Indian Wars." 
Even now there is a deep place in Paugus Brook, known as 
Paugus Hole, on the west side of Brown Loaf, where, it is said, 
the body of Paugus's descendant, who came to kill Chamber- 
lain, many years after the Fight, was sunk, after he himself was 
killed. A small elm stands on the south bank of the brook, 
very near the place. Chamberlain is supposed to have died 
about the year 1756, though no record of his death is found. 
The appraisal of his property was made on March 31, 1756, 
according to papers in the Middlesex Probate Office at East 
Cambridge. The old mill-race is still to be seen ; and twenty- 
five years ago, in company with Francis M. Boutwell, Esq., I 
examined the site. The mill is not mentioned by Dr. Oliver 
Prescott, Jr., in his survey of 1794, and, of course, was not 
standing at that time. It was sold by Joseph Gilson, Jr., hus- 
bandman, to Eleazer Gilson, cooper, February 13, 1 716-17, 
as recorded in the Middlesex Registry of Deeds (XIX. 131, 
132). The land is described as lying on both sides of " Brown- 
lofe Brook," and bounded westerly by the road leading to John 
Chamberlain's corn-mill, which at that time was the mill men- 
tioned in the next paragraph. There has been, however, a 
grist-mill on or very near the same s'te in modern days, 
which was built by George Russell about the year 1870; but 
this was carried away during a freshet in March, 1877. 

A grist-mill stood for a long period on Baddacook Pond 
Brook, about two miles and a half from the Unitarian Meeting- 
House, on the Lowell road. It is given by Dr. Oliver Pres- 
cott, Jr., on his plan of 1794, and was standing in the early part 
of the last century. John Chamberlain, yeoman, conveyed it 
to Eleazer Gilson, February 13, 171 6- 17, — the same day that 
Joseph Gilson, Jr., sold his mill to Gilson, as recorded above. 
The grantor afterward became the famous Indian fighter, 
as already stated. The land is described as lying on the 
southerly side of " Battecook Medow," and from the descrip- 
tion the road ran then as it does now. When Mr. Butler's 
map was made, from a survey during the years 1828 and 1829, 
the mill belonged to Amelia Woods, and before that had 
been owned successively by her father and brother, Nahum 



124 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

and Nahum, Jr. It was taken down about i860, having for 
several years previously fallen into disuse. 

Eleazer Gilson appears to have been a large owner of mill- 
property at an early period in the history of Groton. He 
bought of Isaac Parker, December 7, 1726, a saw-mill situated 
on Mulpus Brook, as recorded in the Middlesex Registry of 
Deeds (XXVI. 336). In modern times he would have made 
his mark as an extensive manufacturer or a railroad magnate. 

During my boyhood there was a mill for grinding and 
sawing at West Groton, — or Squannacook Village, as it was 
then called ; but this was taken down many years ago. It was 
first built by John Tarbell, the father of the late Colonel Abel 
Tarbell, who died on October 19, i860, at the advanced age of 
86 years. John died on September 9, 1802, aged 79. A mill 
for the manufacture of leather-board now occupies the site. 

There was also another mill for grinding and sawing, where 
the Hollingsworth paper-mills now stand, on the Great Road 
north of the village. At the end of the eighteenth century 
it was owned by John Capell, but it disappeared a long time 
ago, in order to make way for the new buildings. Both these 
grist-mills, last mentioned, are given on Dr. Prescott's plan 
of 1794. 



BILLERICA BRIDGE. 

At an early period in our colonial history the travel from 
Groton to Boston went by a circuitous route through Chelms- 
ford and Billerica, where there was a bridge over the Con- 
cord River, built by several towns, — of which Groton was 
one, — and supported jointly by them for many years. The 
Reverend Henry Allen Hazen, in his "History of Billerica " 
(p. 98), says that the town of Groton paid toward the repairs 
of the bridge in the year 1665 the sum of £3 14^. yd. out of 
a total of £21 2s. 2d. — probably the first assessment paid by 
the town, though there is no allusion to the matter in the 
town-records, which are not entirely complete at this period. 
On March 12, 1665-6, the Selectmen of Chelmsford gave 



BILLERICA BRIDGE. 1 25 

notice to the town of Billerica that they would no longer help 
keep the bridge in repair, whereupon it was voted by the 
Selectmen of Billerica that they would take up some of the 
planks and thus stop all travel, which was undoubtedly done. 
How long the bridge remained impassable, or how long the 
difficulty continued, there is no record ; but probably the 
trouble was not settled until the General Court, twenty 
months later, interposed its power and decided the matter. 
At its session beginning on October 9, 1667, it is recorded: 

In Answer to a motion made by the Deputjes of Billirica & 
chelmsford in refferenc to the bridge ouer Billirica Riuer — It is 
Ordered by this Court thatt according to the Agreement of the 
Comittee of the Generall Court & Comitte of that Countje respect- 
ing bridges bearing date Aprill 17. 1660 the sajd bridge shall be 
repayred & vpholden by the Tounes of Billirica chelmsford & 
Groaten. & all such ffarmes as are there granted when they shall be 
Improoued in proportion to their Country rates. & shall be freed from 
the majntenanc of all other bridges excepting only in their oune Tounes. 

[General Court Records, IV. Part 2, 591.] 

In carrying out this order, which had reference only to the 
repairing of the bridge, the County Court at Charlestown, on 
December 1 7, 1667, appointed a commission of four men, — of 
whom Captain James Parker, of Groton, was one, — who were 
authorized to make a contract " with some able and honest 
artificer" for building it anew; and accordingly to that end 
they made an agreement with Job Lane, of Billerica. The 
written contract containing all the specifications in detail is 
still preserved ; and it stipulated that the Groton payments, 
if Lane so chose, should be delivered near the bridge, while 
it was building, and after that in Billerica. The work was to 
be done before September 29, 1668. 

In the year 1676, — according to Mr. Hazen's History 
(P- 99). — the complaints about the bridge were repeated, and 
there was again united action of the towns in repairing it ; but 
probably at this time Groton was relieved of all assessments, 
as the town was then deserted. During the next twenty years 
no further complaint is recorded ; but at the end of this period 



126 NATURAL HISTORY AXD TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

(probably in the year 1698) the bridge was swept away by a 
flood. Then another controversy arose on the old subject of 
proportioning the expense ; and in order to settle the difficulty 
a request was sent out at this time by the Selectmen of Chelms- 
ford to the towns of Groton, Dunstable, and Billerica, asking 
them to appoint a committee, who should be authorized to 
meet and act in the matter. Accordingly a meeting was held, 
probably at Chelmsford, when Thomas Williams and James 
Blanchard, the town clerk, were present, representing the 
town of Groton. (History of Billerica, p. 100.) One result 
of this consultation was to change the location of the bridge 
and place it more than a mile farther up the river. The fol- 
lowing entries in the Groton town-records probably refer to a 
subsequent meeting of the committee, which soon followed the 
first, when there was evidently a hitch in the proceedings: — 

december 21 at a town meting legely warned the town did then 
uote and declare that y a will chuse to men for to be the towns agents 
for to maniadge the case a bought the brigde and for to imply a law- 
yer in the behalfe of the town and that y ' will raise money for to bare 
the charge of said men James Blanchard town dark 

at a town meting legely warning december: 21 1698. capan Pras- 
cott was chosen for to go to chelmsford to meett with the commety 
and insign farn worth was chosen for to go with him to chamesford. 

James Blanchard town Clarke 

december: 21 1698 at a town meting legelly warned the town 
did uote and chuse capt prescott and insign farnworth to go to 
Chelmsford to mete with the commete and to act in the towns be 
halfe acording to there best discrestion refering to billarca bridg 

James Blanchard town Clark 

December 21 : 1698: at a town metinge legelly warn the town 
did chuse capt prescott and Insign farnworth to be the to men for 
to acte in the towns be halfe for to do the work Spock of in the 
other uot James Blanchard town Cla[rk] 

The bridge was built on the new site some time during 
the year 1699, but for one reason or another now unexplained, 
the town of Groton refused to pay the amount assessed as her 
share of the expense, and recourse was again had to the Gen- 



BILLERICA BRIDGE. 1 27 

eral Court. At the session beginning on May 31, 1699, and 
continued by several prorogations until March 13, 1 699-1 700, 
the following enactment was passed : — 

An Act relating to Billerica Bridge, in the County of fflibblcser. 

Y^OJ? Issuing of the Controversie betzveen the Towns of Groton, 
■*■ Billerica and Chelmsford, and the Inhabitants of the Farms 
Adjacent, arising by reason of the refusal or neglect of the Agents for 
the Town of Groton aforesaid, to pay the Sum set and proportioned on 
their Town, for and towards the Erecting and Building of the Bridge 
in the said Town of Billerica, in the County of Middlesex; which 
ought in Equity to have been paid; the Sum being Twenty Four 
Pounds, and Ten Shillings. 

Be it IHitacteb bu Jfyis Ctcellcucg the (gobernottr, Council anb 
Kcpvcscntatibes tit ©encral Court 'Hsscmblcb, anb by the Huthoritu 
of tfjc same, That the Court of Quarter Sessions of the Peace, to be 
holden at Concord, in the said County of Middlesex, on the Second 
Tuesday of June next, are hereby ordered and impowred to issue and 
send forth a Warrant to the Select-men or Assessors of the said 
Town of Groton, Requiring them forthwith to Levy and Assess the 
said Sum or Twenty Four Founds, and Ten Shillings Money, on the 
Inhabitants of their Town according to Law ; and with the Assessment 
to deliver a Warrant to the Constable of their Town, Requiring him to 
Collect and Gather the same ; and the said Sum so Collected, to de- 
liver and pay in unto Major Thomas Hinksman, Major Jonathan 
Tinge, and Mr. John lane, Undertakers for the Building of the 
Bridge lately Erected in Billerica above-said ; and the said Constable 
to pay in the said Sum, and issue and settle his Accompt with the said 
Undertakers, at or before the First Day of August next. And Groton 
shall not be liable to Contribute anything further toward the Repair or 
Rebuilding the said Bridge at any time for the future ; unless the Gen- 
eral Court or Assembly shall Order the same. 

"Acts and Laws, of her Majesties Province of the Massachusetts-Bay in New- 
England" (Boston, 17 14), p. 129. 

The town's exemption from liabilities on account of the 
bridge, as implied in the last clause, however, did not last 
long, as in the course of a few years this paragraph was 
repealed. At the session of the General Court beginning 
on May 30, 1716, the following enactment was passed: — 



128 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

An Act relating to the great Bridge in Billerica. 

TTT'HEREAS the Agents for the To%vns of Billerica and Chelms- 
ford, by Direction of the said Towns in their Petition to this 
Court at their present Session, have shewed forth, that there is a Great 
Bridge erected over Concord- River, in the Township of Billerica, and 
that the said Bridge was built by the Totvns of Billerica, Chelmsford 
and Groton ; and according to a fortner Settlement made by a Com- 
mittee appointed for the Settlement of the Charge of the Bridges in the 
County 6/ Middlesex. But the Town of Groton, upon Application to 
this Court in 1699, d*d obtain a Discharge from either building or re- 
pairing for the future, without further Order from this Court. And 
further it was alledged in the said Petition, that the said Bridge is 
fallen into such Decay, that it is no Ways profitable to Repair, or safe 
to Improve any longer as it now is, but that the same must of Necesstty 
be new-built ; and that it is apprehended the Charge will be so great 
that the Burthen will be too heavy for Billerica and Chelmsford to 
bear, for the Reasons therein given, which more properly ought to come 
under Consideration of the justices of the Court of General Session of 
the Peace in the County (/Middlesex : 

33e ft therefore rjeclareti anti enacted bu the honourable the SLtcutrnant 
(fPorjcrnour, Council anti Kcpresnitatiucs, t'tt (General Court assembled, 
anli bu the Sluthoritrj of the same, That the Matters contained in the 
said Petition be referred to the Consideration of the Justices of the 
Court of General Sessions of the Peace for the said County of 
Middlesex, at their Quarter Sessions ; who are hereby fully authorized 
and impowred to take such Order about the said Bridge from Time 
to Time, and at all Times hereafter, as shall be judged meet and con- 
venient, and to settle the Charge of the same, upon any, or every the 
Towns of the said County. And the Paragraph in the Law exempting 
the Town of Groton, from the Charge of the said Bridge, is hereby 
repealed, and made null and void. 

" Acts and Laws, of his Majesty's Province of the Massachusetts-Bay in New- 
England" (Boston, 1759), p. 191. 

How long after this time the town was called upon to help 
support the bridge, I am unable to say, but probably not for 
many years. The line of travel from Groton gradually worked 
its way to Boston in a straighter direction, and left the Billerica 
bridge eisrht or ten miles to the northward. 



AN OLD DEED. 120, 



AN OLD DEED. 

In presenting an old parchment deed, duly signed and 
sealed, to the Massachusetts Historical Society on June 14, 
1888, I gave the following description of the paper. As it 
relates to the neighborhood of Groton, I include it in this 
series of articles. 

It was given by Abigail Flint, John Flint and Mary, his 
wife, to Thomas Wheeler, all of Concord, and dated June 19, 
1674. It conveyed 800 acres of land, which is described as 

lying and being in two parceils in the Wilderness Northerly from 
the towneship of Grawton at or neare unto a place commonly called 
by the Indians Aukecunsick : the one parcell being bounded on 
the South Easterly Side by a River that runs from the Towne of 
Grawton : and the other parcell lyeing about one hundred Rods 
distant from the affore mentioned parcell of land on the North 
Westerly Side thereof: Both which said parceils of Land being 
bounded out by marked trees : 

It is evident from the description that both these tracts of 
land lay on the northwesterly side of the Nashua River, and 
one of them was bounded by that stream. The two parcels 
come now within the limits of Hollis, New Hampshire, where 
the name of the original owners is still perpetuated by a 
Flint's Pond and a Flint's Brook. The Indian word Auke- 
cunsick seems now to have died out entirely, and I cannot 
find that it exists in the neighborhood, even in any modified 
form. 

These two tracts of land had been granted at the session 
of the General Court beginning May 22, 1661, to the widow 
of Thomas Flint and her second son John, in consideration of 
the public services of her husband and his father, who had 
been during eleven years a Magistrate of the Colony. Mrs. 
Flint had been left with a numerous family, " many whereof 
were in minority;" and the burden of their support had fallen 
on John, for which reason he was to have an equal interest in 
the grant with his mother. The return of the survey was 



I30 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

made at the session of the General Court beginning May 27, 
1663, and duly approved by that body. 

Through the signature of Abigail Flint, the deed furnishes 
the given name of Thomas's widow. John, the son, married 
Mary, the daughter of Urian Oakes, the President of Harvard 
College; and their signatures, also, are attached to the docu- 
ment. The grantee was afterward known as Captain Thomas 
Wheeler, the famous Indian fighter, who wrote a " Narrative " 
of his campaign against the savages. 



JAMES'S BROOK. 

Mr. Butler, in his History (p. 244), says that James's 
Brook took its name from Captain James Parker, a large land- 
owner along the banks of the stream. His ownership, how- 
ever, was near the upper part of the brook, and did not extend 
to any great distance below. During the last seventy-five years 
this explanation of the name has been generally received, and 
before that period but little thought was given to the subject. 
Recently my attention has been called to a different view of 
the question by the late Honorable Claudius Buchanan Farns- 
worth, of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, who was a native of Groton. 
Mr. Farnsworth belonged to a family that had lived for more 
than two centuries in the immediate neighborhood of the 
brook, and he was himself very familiar with the locality and 
the traditions of the place. Under the date of September 3, 
1888, he writes: — 

When a boy, living near the brook and crossing it very often, I 
used to hear people say that it was so called after an Indian, named 
"Jeems," who fished along its banks and finally was found dead in 
the vicinity. In my boyhood that was the popular talk, and I have 
heard it many times over. It is called "James his P>roke " in the 
town-records, November 27, 1664, when things could haidly have 
got so settled that common usage would have given to the brook 
the Christian name of a proprietor living near by. 



CAMP STEVENS AT GROTON. 131 

Mr. Farnsworth's point appears to be well taken, and par- 
ticularly in the light of the fact that there was in very early 
times an Indian by the name of James, who had some busi- 
ness relations with John Tinker, one of the petitioners for 
Groton and an original settler of the town. Certain papers 
bearing on these transactions, which covered a period of sev- 
eral years following February 13, 1656, are printed in " Groton 
during the Indian Wars" (pp. 179-181). Like all Indians 
James was a famous sportsman, for he agreed to furnish 
within a given time a large number of beaver skins. He was 
friendly to the whites, and probably a noted character in his day. 

In the Indian Roll, — the earliest book of town-records, — 
there are only twelve references to James's Brook, which all 
appear to relate to the lower half of the stream, — to the part 
below Matthias Farnsworth's house. Perhaps the name was 
first given to the lower part of the brook, and then by gen- 
eral consent worked upward to the source of the stream. 

On page 57 of the printed Records, under the date of June 
8, 1680, there is an allusion to "the Brook by the Captains," 
which evidently means this brook. If the name had been 
taken originally from Captain James Parker, in use as early 
as November, 1664, and applied to its whole length, it seems 
as if it would have been called James's Brook at the time of 
this entry in June, 1680. 



CAMP STEVENS AT GROTON. 

During the War of the Rebellion, in the autumn of 1862 
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts established a military 
camp at Groton, on the triangular piece of land situated in 
the southwesterly part of the town, and bounded by the 
Peterborough and Shirley Railroad, the Nashua River and 
the road to Shirley Village. It contained eighteen or twenty 
acres, more or less, and at that time belonged to Joseph Cutts ; 
the entrance was near the angle made by the railroad and the 
highway. The Fifty-third Regiment of Infantry, Massachu- 



132 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

setts Volunteer Militia, while its ranks were recruiting, was 
encamped on this ground. The regiment was raised from 
Groton, and Clinton, Leominster, Fitchburg and other towns 
in the neighborhood belonging to Worcester County, and 
was mustered into the public service for nine months. 

Special Order, No. 916, issued by the Adjutant-General 
of the Commonwealth, September 19, 1862, contains the 
following: — 

A camp of rendezvous is established at Groton Junction, Middlesex 
Co., where barracks are being built, which is designated Camp Stevens. 
Capt. W. C. Sawyer, 23d Regt. Mass. Vols., is appointed Comman- 
dant. Due notice will be given when the barracks are ready for use. 

Special Order, No. 955, under the date of September 23, 
has the following: — 

Lindsey Tilden [Charles Linzee Tilden], 20th Regt. Mass. Vols., is 
detailed for Post Adjutant at Camp Stevens, Groton. 

The camp was so named in memory of General Isaac 
Ingalls Stevens, a native of Andover and a graduate of West 
Point, who was killed in the battle of Chantilly, Virginia, 
on September 1, 1862, about a fortnight before the camp 
was established. 

The Commandant was Wesley Caleb Sawyer, born in the 
adjoining town of Harvard, on August 26, 1839, who gradu- 
ated at Harvard College in the class of 1861. Soon after 
leaving Cambridge he was commissioned, on October 8, 1861, 
as a Captain in the Twenty-third Massachusetts Volunteers, 
and he left the State with that regiment. He was attached to 
the Burnside expedition, that went to North Carolina; in the 
Battle of Newbern, March 14, 1862, he was severely wounded, 
which resulted in the amputation of his left thigh, and neces- 
sarily prevented him from further participation in an active 
campaign. 

The regiment left Camp Stevens, on Saturday, November 
29, for New York, where it remained until January 17, 1863, 
at which time it embarked for New Orleans. Subsequently 
to the departure of the troops from Groton, the following 
order was issued : — 



CAMP STEVENS AT GROTON. 1 33 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 

Head Quarters, Boston, Dec. 20, 1862. 
Special Order, No. 131 1. 

The troops which were enlisted and mustered into service at 
Camp Stevens, Groton Junction, having left the Commonwealth for 
the seat of war, Capt. Wesley C. Sawyer, Commandant of the 
Camp, is relieved from further service, and I am directed by His 
Excellency the Commander in Chief, to thank Capt. Sawyer for the 
acceptable manner in which he has performed the duties of his post. 
By order of the Commander in Chief, 

William Schouler, 

Adjt. General. 

Since the war Captain Sawyer has studied at Gottingen, 
Germany, where he received the degree of Doctor of Philoso- 
phy. He has held the professorship of Philosophy and 
Rhetoric at Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin, but 
is now living at San Jose, California. 

The barracks and other structures used by the soldiers at 
Camp Stevens have long since disappeared, and not a trace 
of the former occupation is to be seen. Years ago some of 
the buildings were taken down, and the rest were removed, 
mostly to Ayer. George James Burns, Esq., a lawyer of that 
town, wrote an interesting article for " The Groton Land- 
mark," June 25, 1887, which traces the history of many of 
these buildings. 

In the autumn of 1862, Dr. Edward Jarvis, of Dorchester, 
was appointed by Surgeon-General Dale to visit the various 
camps in the State, of which there were ten, and report on 
their sanitary condition. The result of his labors may be 
found in two communications printed in "The Boston Medi- 
cal and Surgical Journal" for December 4 and II, 1862 
(LXVII. 364-367 and 381-384, respectively), wherein he 
makes some criticism on Camp Stevens. 

According to the " Record of Massachusetts Volunteers, 
1 861-1865 " (I. 390-392), the following soldiers died in camp 
at Groton : Henry A. Waters, of Shirley, Co. D, on October 
25, 1862; Spencer Stockwell, of Athol, Co. E, November 20; 
and Daniel P. Hemenway, of Barre, Co. F, December r. 



134 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 



TWO THOROUGHFARES TO BOSTON. 

In former times there were two main thoroughfares be- 
tween Groton and Boston: one of them, starting from the 
Ridges, passed through Littleton, Acton, Concord, Lincoln, 
and Lexington, and so on to Boston ; while the other, also 
starting from the Ridges, passed through Westford, Car- 
lisle, Bedford, and Lexington, where it met the first 
road, and thence on to Boston by a common way. A 
large share of the travel between certain parts of New 
Hampshire and Vermont and Boston took one or the 
other of these highways, and the incidental business was 
an item of much importance to the traders and tavern- 
keepers along the road. Eighty-five years ago there was 
great rivalry among interested persons to obtain the travel 
and teaming on their respective thoroughfares, and the trade 
of store and tavern was jealously watched and carefully 
guarded. In 1823 a sign-board was set up in the crotch 
of the roads at the Ridges, saying that the way through 
Concord to Lexington was two miles further than the one 
through Carlisle ; and soon afterward a counter-statement 
was made by the other side. I have been told that, when 
Mr. Gerrish's store was dismantled in the summer of 1885, 
before its removal to another site, this old sign-board was 
found there ; but I have never yet been able to verify the 
statement. 

The following extract from the " Concord Gazette & Middle- 
sex Yeoman," February 21, 1824, seems now to give a fair 
and impartial version of the controversy: — 

We insert below the statement of the Committee appointed to 
measure the roads from Groton to Lexington. It is a subject, we 
are aware, on which the respective parties concerned feel pretty 
deeply. If any objections should be offered, written in a becoming 
style, and calculated to affect the accuracy of the subjoined statement, 
we shall give them publicity without hesitation. 



TWO THOROUGHFARES TO BOSTON. 



135 



PUBLIC ROADS TO BOSTON. 

The subscribers having been appointed, at a meeting of several 
of the citizens of this and the neighboring towns, as a Committee 
to procure a measurement of the two roads from the ridges in 
Groton to Lexington, they now, by special desire, publish the 
following result of their proceedings. 

The roads in question run, one through Westford, Carlisle, Bedford 
to Lexington ; the other through Littleton, Acton, Concord, Lincoln 
to Lexington. The guide-board near the Groton ridges, where the 
roads divide, states the road through this town to be more than two 
miles longer than the other, and has had a tendency, it is believed, 
to mislead travellers by this inaccuracy. For it calls the difference 
nearly three times as great as it really is. The public have a right to 
know the truth of the matter, and will then exercise their discretion in 
choice of roads to travel. 

To obtain authentic knowledge on the subject, the subscribers have 
employed a sworn surveyor, Capt. Hubbard, and sworn Chainmen 
to measure the two roads, beginning at Loring's Inn, near Groton 
ridges, where the two roads divide and going by both routes to Lex- 
ington where they again unite. The following is the result of this 
measurement. 



Road through Concord, 



From the forks of the road in ) 
Lexington to E. Robbins' \ 
Robbins' to Viles's 
Viles's to Patch's 

Patch's to Thompson's in Concord, 
Thompson's to Bigelow's, in do. 
Bigelow's to Wetherbee's 
Wetherbee's to Stearns's 
Steam's to White's 
White's to Proctor's 
Proctor's to Nye's 
Nye's to Loring's [the Ridges] 



mis. 


rods. 


links 


O 


077 


OO 


I 


261 


oS 


2 


034 


18 


2 


098 


°s 


O 


°57 


OO 


3 


107 


12 


1 


J 39 


24 


1 


223 


l8 





252 


IO 


2 


052 


OS 


3 


168 


OI 



Miles 19 192 04 





mis. 


rods. 


links. 




4 


089 


2 I 




3 


1 1 1 


24 




2 


190 


OI 




4 


088 


04 




2 


281 


16 




1 


153 


18 


Miles 


18 


275 


09 




mis. 


rods. 


links 




l 9 


192 


04 




18 


275 


09 


Difference 




236 


20 



136 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 
Road through Carlisle. 

Loring's in Groton to Hartwell's 
Hartwell's to Dupee's 
Dupee's to Nickles' 
Nickles' to Porter's 
Porter's to Simond's 
Simonds to the forks 



Through Concord 
Through Carlisle 



From the preceding statement it will be seen that the road from 
Loring's tavern to Lexington through Concord is 236 rods and a 
fraction longer than that through Carlisle ; this difference however 
is less than three quarters of a mile. 

There are eleven public houses on the road through Concord ; 
and six public houses on the road through Carlisle. 

This measurement of the Carlisle road agrees, within a very few 
rods, with the measurement of that road by Caleis Butler, Esq. 
of Groton. If this gentleman had also measured the road through 
Concord the public would have had a correct statement of the dis- 
tances. But unfortunately the gentleman, who about that time 
measured the road through this town, apparently did it with very 
little accuracy. In one place, namely, from Thompson's tavern in 
this town to Bigelow's, the short space of fifty '-seven rods, he made 
a mistake of sixteen rods ; we therefore place little confidence in 
his measurement of any part of the route. It should be observed 
that one public house in this town, viz. Mr. Alexander's within a 
few rods of Mr. Bigelow's was accidentally not mentioned in this 
measurement of roads. 

JOSIAH DAVIS. 
PHINEAS HOWE. 
EBENEZER THOMPSON. 
STEPHEN PATCH. 
DANIEL SHATTUCK. 



HIGHWAY FROM GROTON TO CONCORD. 137 



HIGHWAY FROM GROTON TO CONCORD. 

At a session of the Middlesex County Court, held at 
Cambridge and beginning on April I, 1673, according to the 
records, the following commission was appointed : — 

M r Jn'.' flint, Jn.' Smedly, John fiske Jun r Abram Parker, James 
Knap & Robert Bloud, are nominated & impowred by this Court, 
to lay out & settle the high way between Grotton & Concord, & 
this worke to be attended the 21. day of May next, at 9 : of the 
clocke in the morneing, to meet & begin at the westerly end of 
Tadmock meadows (III. 5S, 59). 

The members of the foregoing committee lived, respectively, 
as follows : Flint and Smedly at Concord ; Fiske and Parker 
at Chelmsford ; and Knap and Blood at Groton. The Tad- 
mock meadows lie now within the limits of Westford, though 
Tadmuck is the usual way of writing the word at the present 
time. 

At a session of the same Court, held at Cambridge and be- 
ginning on April 4, 1682, the following action was taken: — 

In answ r to a motion made by the select men of Grotton the 
Comittee formly chosen out of Grotton Concord & Chelmsford are 
appoynted to perfect y e Highway from Grotton to Concord, & to 
settle y e same thorow Robert Blouds farme where it may be most 
convenient (IV. 32). 

Robert Blood, whose farm is mentioned above, was of 
Concord, where he was a large land-owner, and one of the 
petitioners for the plantation of Groton, as also were two of 
his brothers, Richard and John. Richard, however, was the 
only one of the three who settled in Groton ; and after his 
death, which took place on December 7, 1683, administration 
on his estate was granted to the widow Isabel, and her three 
sons, James, Joseph, and Nathaniel, whose names are given, 
presumably, in the order of their ages. 

The following extracts, taken from " The Early Records 
of Groton, Massachusetts," undoubtedly refer to the same 
highway : — 



138 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

At a meeting of the select men Janeuary 10 1672 a commite 
chussen to meet with concord men chelmesford men and Robert 
blood to lay out the way to the bay betwene this and the spring 
wheir it is most passable and the commite are maior willard sergent 
parker James knop The maior hauing not tim to atend it Richard 
Blood is chussen by the towne in his roume at a towne meeting 
march 17 72-73 (pp. 44, 45). 

At a generall Town meeting febr 18 1680 It was then agreed 
vpon and voted that the old Commitee chusen shold perfect their 
work in laying out the hye way to Concord (p. 63). 



HIGHWAY TO CHELMSFORD. 

GROTON and Chelmsford were neighboring towns, and set- 
tled at the same time, but for some years their means of inter- 
communication were very limited. Originally, the road from 
Groton to Boston was by way of Chelmsford, and the bridge 
in Billerica over the Concord River, along the same thorough- 
fare, was built in part by Groton. 

The Reverend Wilkes Allen, in his History of Chelmsford, 
has the following: — 

Road to Groton — 1663. 

For many years the chief travel to Groton, was thro' this town. 
Hence a road was laid out by a joint committee of Groton and 
Chelmsford " beginning at Beaver brook-bridge, and running over 
the north side of Robin's Hill thro' Richard Hildrith's yard to the 
west end of Heart Pond, over the swamp to Thomas Chamberlin's 
meadow, and so on towards Groton on the east side of Tad muck 
great meadows." The towns of Billerica, Chelmsford, Groton 
Townsend, Dunstable & Dracut. unitedly built the great bridge 
over Concord river at Billerica, and for many years jointly main- 
tained it (p. 18). 

Presumably this statement is made, in the main, on the 
authority of the Chelmsford records ; but it is evident that 
Dracut and Townsend could not have taken any part in build- 
ing an early bridge, as they had not then been incorporated 
as towns. 



MIDDLESEX COUNTY BRIDGES. 139 

The following reference to the Chelmsford highway is 
found in the printed edition of the Groton records: — 

The Country hye way being determened betwen this towne and 
Chel[ms]ford by a commitey chosen Respectiuly by both towns 
haue agreed and according layd out thes country hye way from y' 
jnetting house place in the ould carte way to Chelmsford metting 
house sixe Rode in width from place to pla[ce] this being testefyed 
vndr the hands [of] the commitey at a towne mee[ting] the 10 of 
July 65 and excepted by the towne may be suficente to sattesfy 
aney home it may heraftr concern 

witnesse Jam ffiske in the nam o[f] the towne 

(P- MO 



MIDDLESEX COUNTY BRIDGES- 

THE following paper is copied from the original report in 
the possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and 
found in a volume (p. 60) of miscellaneous manuscripts 
marked on the back " Letters & Papers 1632-1678." It shows 
the early period when the inhabitants of Groton were taxed 
for the support of a county bridge. All the signatures at- 
tached to the paper are autographs; and " Wipsuffridge," 
one of several forms of an Indian word, is now known as 
Marlborough. 

May . 1 . 1660. 

Wee of the Comitte for Bridges in the Countie of Midlsex at our 
Second meeting (by Order of the Countie Court) vpon the 1 7 day 
of the 2' 1 m° 1660 : whose names are hervnder written, vpon 
farther Informacon ; Inqujsicoh ; disscussion and Consideracoh 
haue Cleerly Concerned and Concluded ; That the Town of 
Concord haue no iust ground of Complaint or Allowance from 
the Countie in respect of their Bridges ; for the Reasons herafter 
Expressed. 
1 The three Bridges they soote and plead vpon are for their own 
proper ; Specal and perticuler Concernments for their Saw Mill ; 
Iron works and other occasions ; and not necessarie for the Countie 
or Countrie ; and may at their pleasure be deserted. 



140 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

2 If Any Argument be ; because they were made during the law for 
Each Countie to make and maynteyn their own Bridges (which 
they were not Onely repayred or some Addicon) then all other 
Towns must bring in their Charges for the like and be Allowed 
for it. 

3 If the Argument be that their Burden is Aboue their Abilitie ; 
then other Towns burdens Compared with theirs ; Aduantages 
and disaduantages Considered ; they'l find no Ease at all. Inst 
Sudbury at 25^ charges yearly for repayring one peece of higway 
in the Countri rode beside all others of like nature. 

4 Though Concord dispended vpon some of their Bridges Since 
the Order for Counti Bridges yet neither those Bridges nor any 
of them were vndertaken By Order of the Countie as was Bille- 
rika and Mestick Bridges ; Therfore not to be charged on the 
Countie ; more then Sudbury ; Watert° ; Redding and Some 
others ; who haue no Expectacoh of personal profitts Comparable 
to Concord. 

5 Wee are Credibly Informed that the way from Lancaster for 
whom and on whose Mocoh it is Alledged that one of Concord 
Bridges was Erected at least in part ; is now found neerer by 
three or fowre miles then to come by Concord ; Allso A better 
way and such as needs no Bridge whensoeuer Lancaster Can 
pass from their own Town And Allso if the Countie or Countrie 
shall need A Bridge there ; that it may be built for Ten Pounds 
Charge; neere Stones Farm in Wipsuffridge way. 

yet for A Satisfactory Setlment with Concord and the rest of 
the Countie and for Auoyding all farther trouble to Courts and 
Countie wee think meete and conclude that the Twentie Pounds 
formerly granted to Concord be made vp Thirtie pounds (i e) 
Ten Pounds more in respect of their charges of that nature be- 
yond some other Towns in the Countie ; which Ten pounds shall 
be raysed in proporcoh on Charlst.' Camb r Watert'.' Wooburne ; 
Redding Meadford and Maldon. 

6 Wee Conceiue and Conclude that Billerica Bridge shall be So 
farr A Countie Bridge as to be vpholde by the Towns of Billerica ; 
Chelmsford and Groton and all such farmes as are there Granted 
when they shall be Improued (in proporcoh to their Countrie 
rates) 

7 Wee Conceiue that Mestick Bridge shold be vpholden by the 
Countrie ; or Else one half by the Town of Charlst.' and the other 



THE DARK DAY OF 1780. 141 

half by Cambridge ; Wooburne ; Redding Meadford and Maldon 
in proporcon as Aforesayd. 
8 Wee Conceiue & Conclude that the Towns of Concord ; Sudbury ; 
Lancaster; Billerica Chelmsford and Groton shold be free from 
Charges to all Bridges Extant saue their own Bridges as before 
Specified, as allso from such Bridge as shal be made in Wipsuf- 
fridge way aforesayd. 

Lastly if this our returne be not Satisfactory wee haue Appointed 
Cap' Norton Capt' Mason and Joseph Hills on notice giuen them ; 
to Attend any farther Agitacoh respecting this thing. 

At A meeting of the Comitte Appointed by the Francis Norton 

generall Court (i. e) Cap' Lusher Lieu' Clappe 

Deacon Parks it was Agreed and Ordered that Hugh mason 

the Conclusions Afore recited shall stand firme 

and be An Absolute and final determinacon in Edmund Goodenow 

respect of Concord & all other the Towns in 

the Countie of Midlsex and for the Town of Edward Conuers 

Concord Thomas Brooks and John Smedly doe 

bind themselues and Successors in one hundred Joseph Hills : 

Pounds to John Stedman Treas er of the Countie 

that their Inhabitants shall rest in the determi- 

naco Aforesayd which bond they shal be 

Accquitted of on Certifficate to the Treas er 

signified vnder the hands of their Select- 
men ; of their inhabitants acceptacoh of 

the foresayd determinacon. 

(witnes our hands 
Signed 
William Park Joseph Hills : Thos Brooks Jonathan Danforth 
Eleazer Lusher Hugh mason John Smedly James Parker. 
Roger Clap 



THE DARK DAY OF 1780. 

The following description of the famous Dark Day, and of 
its effects as seen in the neighborhood of Groton, is taken from 
" The Independent Chronicle. And The Universal Adver- 
tiser " (Boston), June 1, 1780. The article is signed "A 
Peripatetick," a signature used by James Winthrop, who was 



I42 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

at that period both Librarian of Harvard College and Regis- 
ter of Probate for Middlesex County. Dr. Oliver Prescott, 
of Groton, was then Judge of Probate; and it is not improb- 
able that the writer of the article was visiting in his family, 
when the account was written. 

To the PUBLIC. 

ON Friday, May 19, 1780, at six o'clock in the morning, at 
Pepperrell, the peals of thunder were loud and frequent, 
attended with heavy rain. At seven o'clock the rain and thunder 
had ceased ; but the sky continued cloudy. Between nine and ten 
o'clock the clouds were observed to thicken, and to receive con- 
tinual reinforcements from the low lands. Before ten the darkness 
had sensibly increased, till it became difficult to read an almanack 
in a room with two windows. At eleven o'clock candles were 
lighted at Groton, and at half past eleven the darkness was so 
great in the meeting-house, where a court was then sitting, that 
it was difficult to distinguish countenances at the smallest dis- 
tance, notwithstanding the great number of windows usual in such 
buildings. At twelve the darkness was greatest and a little rain 
fell. In the street the appearance was like the beginning of 
evening, as candles were seen burning in all the houses. The clouds 
were thinnest at the north, which excited the idea of an Aurora 
Borealis. At the northeast the clouds were very thick, and so 
low that hills could not be seen at the distance of half a mile. 
Southwesterly, hills might be clearly seen at the distance of twenty 
miles ; but the intermediate space was so shaded, that it was im- 
possible to distinguish woodland from pasture. At half past twelve 
the clouds, having been hitherto detached, begun to embody at 
such an height, that all the hills became visible, and the country 
round exhibited a most beautiful verdure. At one the clouds became 
uniformly spread, and it was not darker than is usual on a cloudy day. 
The same weather continued through the whole afternoon, except 
that the sun was seen for a few minutes at Acton, about three o'clock. 
At eight in the evening the darkness was so great as to render travel- 
ling impracticable. Although the moon rose nearly full about nine 
o'clock, yet it did not give light enough to enable a person to dis- 
tinguish between the heavens and the earth. 

The detached appearance of the clouds in the forenon is alone 
sufficient to account for the darkness : For as soon as the clouds 



THE DARK DAY OF 1780. 143 

had spread uniformly over the heavens, there was no remarkable 
deficiency of light. — If any one chuses to make an experiment 
for himself to illustrate the matter, let him take a few panes of glass, 
and place them at a small distance from each other in such a manner, 
that the sun may shine directly through them all ; in this case he will 
find that the rays of light are much more obstructed than they will be 
in passing through a single glass, equal in thickness to all the others. 
— The reason is obvious. — The reflection of light is from the 
surfaces of transparent bodies, and not from their interior parts. 

Various suppositions have been made respecting this subject. — 
Some have supposed, that the earth was passing through the tail 
of a comet ; to this it is a sufficient answer that stars are visible 
through the tails of comets, it is therefore impossible, that this cause 
should obscure the lustre of the sun. — A writer has appeared under 
the signature of Viator, in the Independent Chronicle, May 25th, who 
asserts that upon examining the rain water in tubs " I found a light 
" scum over it which rubbing between my thumb and finger, I found 
"to be nothing but the black ashes of burnt leaves. — The water gave 
'' the same strong smell, which we had observed in the air, and con- 
" firmed my opinion, that the smell mentioned above, was occasioned 
" by the smoke or very small particles of burnt leaves, which had 
" obscured the hemisphere for several days past, and were now 
" brought down by the rain. — I believe it is the first time that it ever 
came within the compass of a human imagination to suppose, that 
the haziness of the sky in warm weather was occasioned by ashes 
being lodged in it, which needed the assistance of rain to bring it 
down — Just as probable is the theory which accounted for the dark- 
ness, from this circumstance, that the sun and Jupiter were then in 
the quartile aspect. More plausible, but not more just, was the 
opinion of a gentleman of learning, who supposed that the nucleus of 
a comet intervened between the earth and the sun, and occasioned a 
solar eclipse. — There are various phcenomena which by no means 
correspond with this opinion. . The clouds were seen continually 
rising to obscure the hills which is sufficient to account for the dark- 
ness ; and the tides did not rise to an unusual height, as they would 
have done, had a compact body of such magnitude as a comet, been 
so near the earth, in such a situation, as to give us darkness instead 
of day. — It is in vain to assign the rapid motion of a comet, as a 
reason why the tides should not rise any higher than usual ; for though 
it was but a short time in conjunction with the sun, yet it's motion 



144 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

being nearly rectilinear, it must have continued for several hours near 
the earth, and the universal law of gravity holds equally good, whether 
bodies are in motion or at rest. 

A Peripatetick. 

It will be noticed that Mr. Winthrop refers to a previous 
article on the Dark Day, signed " Viator," which also appeared 
in the Chronicle; and in connection with this reference an 
extract from a letter on the same subject, written by the 
Reverend John Eliot, of Boston, to the Reverend Jeremy 
Belknap, of Dover, New Hampshire, under date of June 3, 
1780, has some interest. The letter is found in the fourth 
volume, sixth series, of the Collections of the Massachusetts 
Historical Society (pp. 191-194). 

Our philosophers this way differ greatly. M r Lathrop * printed 
an account of the appearance of things, & signed Viator. He was 
at [Dr. Manasseh] Cutler's, Ipswich Hamlet [Hamilton], with Pro- 
fessor Sewal & others, who agreed that smoke was the primary cause, 

&c. He is attacked by a Peripatetick, J. VV p., who, thinking 

M r Williams'- was the author, malitiously meanC to lessen his reputa- 
tion. This gentleman gives without doubt the true cause. The de- 
tached appearance of the clouds in the forenoon will account for the 
darkness, as may be illustrated by taking panes of glass & placing 
them at a small distance from each other. 

Caleb Butler, Esq., in his History of Groton, refers to the 
same subject, and makes the following explanation of the 
occurrence : — 

The darkness of this day and of the night following, which was 
proportionally great, was satisfactorily accounted for, by attentive 
observers of the phenomenon. There had been, a few days previous, 
very extensive fires between the settlements in Canada and New 
England. The state of the atmosphere and currents of the wind had 
favored the collection and preservation of the smoke over the territory 
involved in the darkness. The formation of the clouds, too, which 
prevailed at the time, probably had an agency in producing the result, 
by being in several layers and holding the smoke between them, and 

1 Reverend John Lathrop, Minister of the Second Church, Boston. 

2 Samuel Williams, Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural 
Philosophy. 



THE CIRCUS AND THE SHOW. 1 45 

especially between them and the earth. As evidence, in part, of the 
correctness of this explanation of the phenomenon, the ashes of burnt 
leaves were precipitated from the rain water, a little of which fell 
during the day, when suffered to stand a few hours (pp. 260, 261). 

See " The New-England Magazine " (IV. 379-383) for 
May, 1833, published in Boston, for a description and ex- 
planation of the Dark Day. 



THE CIRCUS AND THE SHOW. 

In modern times the circus and the menagerie have been 
united, and their exhibitions are now confined to cities and to 
large towns situated on the line of railroads. Formerly the 
young folks of Groton, and even children of a larger growth 
were treated periodically with these attractions, which then 
always came separately. In my boyhood, nearly every year 
a circus would put in an appearance in the village, and pitch 
a tent — a small one in comparison with those now in use for 
such purposes — behind one of the taverns, or on the Com- 
mon just north of the Burying Ground. People would come 
even from the neighboring towns in considerable numbers, in 
order to see the remarkable feats which had been duly adver- 
tised. Large posters, put up in the bar-rooms, blacksmith 
shops, stables, and other public places, set forth the strange 
sights to be seen. The man of gigantic strength, who could 
pull against four horses, as well as the one with iron jaws, 
who could lift a small cannon by means of straps between his 
teeth, while some one else fired it off, the rider and the acrobat 
were all there, including the clown with his stale jokes. It 
was a gala day, and booths and benches were in order for the 
sale of gingerbread and poor lemonade. Drunkenness was 
not uncommon, and on the whole a deep impression was 
made on the youthful mind. Two performances were given, 
one in the afternoon and the other in the evening; and be- 
fore the audience left their seats the place of the next exhibi- 
tion was announced by the ringmaster. 

These circuses used to come to Groton from Lowell, Nashua 



I46 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

or Fitchburg, or some other town twelve or fifteen miles away, 
and they entered quietly very early in the morning, and de- 
parted soon after the evening performance. It was always 
a source of wonder when the actors got their sleep. Large 
wagons for the transportation of heavy articles, as well as 
lighter vehicles for the personnel, made up the train ; and there 
was the usual sprinkling of mottled horses and trick ponies, 
and of course the inevitable band. The circus came more fre- 
quently than the menagerie, or " show " as it was generally 
called, though sometimes it was spoken of as the " caravan." 

The menagerie was the more popular place of amusement, 
as some people would take their families there who would 
not allow them to attend the circus. It furnished a kind of 
object-lesson which taught natural history, and for that reason 
was sometimes patronized by persons of strict notions. The 
elephant was always a wonder and a delight to the boys who 
believed strictly the current report that he never would cross 
a bridge, but would swim the river, because he would not 
trust himself on the artificial structure. To the youthful 
mind the monkeys, however, were the particular attraction, 
and they were looked upon as almost human. If the Dar- 
winian theory had been then in vogue, the youngsters would 
have become ready converts to its doctrines. 

In these days of large combinations it is not at all likely 
that the show business will ever again be attempted in Groton ; 
and hereafter it will be a recollection or a tradition, and not a 
reality. The circus and the show first came to Groton, prob- 
ably near the beginning of the nineteenth century, though at 
that time they were managed on a very small scale. Persons 
whose recollection went back to the year 18 10, have told me 
that these public amusements were no novelty in their child- 
hood, and of course they precede that date. The last exhibi- 
tion of this character, within the limits of the town, was given 
at the " Junction," by the Great Oriental Circus and Egyptian 
Caravan, on June 4, 1870. It was duly advertised in "The 
Weekly Public Spirit" (Groton Junction), May 26, 1870, and 
was considered, by comparison with similar exhibitions, a very 
slim affair. 



MRS. SARAH C. ROCKWOOD. 147 

AN ODD MISTAKE. 

THE following announcement of a marriage is made in the 
" Columbian Centinel and Massachusetts Federalist " (Boston) 
March 22, 1800: — 

At Groton, Mr. Joel Ames to Miss Lucinda Howboath, of that 
place. 

Knowing that Howboath was not a Groton name, and think- 
ing that there was a blunder somewhere, I was prompted to 
examine the Church records, where the following entry is 
found which fully explains the matter: — 

March 2, 1S00. Joel Ames of Medford to Lucinda Howe of Groton. 

Without doubt Mr. Ames belonged to a Groton family, and 
a notice of his marriage, sent to a newspaper at the time, prob- 
ably read " boath of Groton," following an old spelling of 
" both " ; and the printer did the rest. 



PROMINENT RESIDENTS. 

AMONG the lawyers, who have lived and practised in the 
town, are two Governors of the Commonwealth, one United 
States Senator, four other members of Congress, besides a 
Delegate to the Continental Congress, two members of the 
President's Cabinet, various Justices and Chief Justices of dif- 
ferent Courts, four Speakers of the Massachusetts House of 
Representatives, an Attorney-General of the Commonwealth, 
a President of the State Senate, and three members of the 
Executive Council. 



MRS. SARAH C. ROCKWOOD. 

While travelling homeward, through the State of New 
York from a trip to the Southwest, I left the cars at Syracuse, 
on Thanksgiving Day (November 28, 1889) with the intention 



I48 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

to call on Mrs. Rockwood ; but on reaching Cortland I found 
that she had died on November 26. I was thus enabled to 
attend her funeral on the next day, and to follow her remains 
to the grave. It was a source of sad satisfaction to pay this 
last token of respect to the memory of one who had known 
my mother from her earliest infancy. 

Two years previously, at a meeting of the Massachusetts 
Historical Society, held on June 9, 1887, I spoke as follows, 
in regard to Mrs. Rockwood: — 

In the early part of last month I had the pleasure of meeting a 
kinswoman of Colonel William Prescott, who is probably the only 
person now living who ever saw the hero of Bunker Hill, and certainly 
the only one who ever knew him or ever talked with him ; and her 
recollections are interesting. I refer to Mrs. Sarah (Chaplin) Rock- 
wood, a resident of Cortland, Cortland County, New York, who was 
the youngest daughter of the Rev. Daniel Chaplin, D.D., of Groton, 
the last minister of the town during the period when it formed but a 
single parish. Her mother was Susanna, eldest daughter of Judge 
James Prescott, Colonel William's elder brother. Mrs. Rockwood 
was born at Groton on November 8, 1785, and Colonel Prescott, her 
great-uncle, died on October 13, 1795, — so that she was ten years 
old at the time of his death. The date of her birth was duly entered 
in the town-records, and the entry corresponds with that in her family 
Bible. According to the church records she was baptized on Novem- 
ber 13, 1785. 

She describes him as a tall, well-proportioned man, with blue eyes 
and a large head. He usually wore a skull-cap ; and he parted his 
hair in the middle, wearing it long behind, braided loosely and tied in 
a club with a black ribbon, as was common in those days. He had a 
pleasant countenance, and was remarkably social and full of fun and 
anecdote. He was dignified in his manners, and had the bearing of 
a soldier. 

I am satisfied that her recollections of that early period are clear 
and distinct. She shows in many ways that her memory of events 
long since past is still good, as it is of more recent ones. Although 
she has entered upon the second year of her second century, she 
reads the newspapers, and takes more than an ordinary interest in 
public affm'*" 



COMMODORE BAINBRIDGE AND THE LAKIN FARM. 1 49 

COMMODORE BAINBRIDGE AND THE 
LAKIN FARM. 

Many years ago Commodore William Bainbridge, one of 
the heroes of the American navy during the last war with 
England, owned an undivided third of a farm of 220 acres in 
Groton, which was used for sheep raising. It has since been 
known as the David Lakin place, and is situated on the road 
leading from the beginning of Farmers' Row to the Great 
Road, just below the railroad bridge, half a mile north of the 
Baptist Meeting-House. It extended from the Jenkins road 
on its southerly border to the Great Road on its northerly ; 
and on this farm Mr. Lakin took care of the paupers before 
the town had an alms-house. The Jenkins road was so called 
from a man who lived in that neighborhood, before the Revo- 
lution ; but, by a recent vote of the town on April 6, 1885, 
it has been closed to the public travel on account of its near- 
ness to the Nashua River, and the consequent danger arising 
therefrom. 

According to the record in the Middlesex Registry of Deeds 
(Book CCXXIII. p. 115) at East Cambridge, Commodore 
Bainbridge sold his interest in the place, on July 2, 18 17, to 
John Lakin. During four years before this time, in con- 
nection with Robert C. Ludlow, of Charlestown, and Charles 
W. Green, of Boston, Bainbridge had owned several parcels 
of land in the vicinity, which, presumably, were used for 
sheep-raising purposes, and perhaps made up this farm. 
John Lakin died on August 6, 181 7, at the age of 34 years; 
and the place was then carried on by a brother, David Lakin, 
Jr., who subsequently married John's widow. 

This family of Lakins was descended from William, an 
original settler of the town, who died here on December 10, 
1672, aged 91 years. I have seen a deed, formerly in the pos- 
session of Charles Gerrish, dated 1696 and signed by John 
Lakin, a grandson of William, giving to his son Benjamin, 
land lying "nigh the River at Nod." This deed, which is 
duly recorded at East Cambridge, mentions " Nommucks," 



150 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

and also speaks of the " Lower sledge " and " Smith's sledge," 
different parcels of land in the same neighborhood. These 
patches, and perhaps others, probably comprised what was 
known then as " the sledges." Nod and Naumox are names 
of places used at a very early period in the annals of the town. 
See Vol. I., No. XV. (pp. 8, 17, 18) of the Groton Historical 
Series, for a reference to these localities. 

Theodore Bainbridge, of Philadelphia, was attending school 
at Groton Academy in the year 1815 ; and I am told that he 
was a nephew of the Commodore. 

Mrs. William Gragg Blood (formerly Mrs. John Lawrence), 
of East Pepperell, a daughter of John Lakin, since told me that 
she remembered distinctly the time when Commodore Bain- 
bridge owned an interest in the farm, which he would visit 
occasionally, and give general directions in regard to its man- 
agement. At certain seasons there were, according to her 
recollection, as many as 2000 sheep and lambs on the place, 
which were raised more for the fleece than the mutton. At 
that period every farmer's wife had a loom, and homespun 
fabric was used in every household ; but, independently of 
this, large mills were then projected, and manufactures were 
slowly creeping into New England, at Waltham and elsewhere, 
thus creating a demand for wool. It was thought that merino 
sheep-raising was to be a great industry, which the actual 
result did not bear out. 

In former times many wild pigeons were caught in this 
neighborhood, during the harvest season, by means of nets; 
and in other country towns generally, until the whistle of the 
locomotive, and the growing settlements, drove away these 
birds from their old haunts. To such an extent was the busi- 
ness carried on in Massachusetts that as late as March 13, 
1849, the General Court passed " An Act for the protection 
of Pigeon Beds," as the places were called to which the birds 
were tolled. During my boyhood there were on this farm a 
pigeon stand or roost, and a pigeon bed, near the Tuity Road, 
where David Lakin, Jr., in the season used to catch large 
numbers and sell them in the village. 



A NAVAL HERO. 151 



A NAVAL HERO. 



The following extract is taken from " The History of our 
Navy from its Origin to the Present Day 1775-189S" (New 
York, 1899), by John R. Spears. An account is there given 
of the last battle fought by the United States frigate " Essex " 
against two British vessels in the harbor of Valparaiso, on 
March 28, 18 14. Owing to more men and heavier guns on 
the part of the enemy, Captain David Porter, the American 
commander, was obliged to give the order to strike the colors. 

At that, Benjamin Hazen, a Groton seaman (who, though painfull) 
wounded, had remained at his post, and at the last had joined in the 
request to hand down the flag to save the wounded), bade adieu in 
hearty fashion to those around him. said he had determined never to 
survive the surrender of the Essex, and jumped overboard. He was 
drowned (III. 43, 44). 

For several generations the name of Benjamin Hazen has been 
a familiar one in Groton. Heroes do not spring up, here or 
elsewhere, in such numbers that the town can afford to forget 
such a son, who long ago passed into obscurity. Hazen's 
name, numbered 180, is given in a list printed in the "Journal 
of a Cruise made to the Pacific Ocean " (Philadelphia, 1 8 1 5 ) , by 
Captain David Porter. It is found on page 9 of the first volume, 
where he is rated as a " seaman"; and on page 161 of the second 
volume it appears again in the list of those killed in action. 

Benjamin Hazen was the third son and fourth child of 
Benjamin and Lydia (Woods) Hazen, and was born at 
Groton, on June 13, 1776. In talking with Luther Hazen, a 
nephew of the seaman, twelve years ago, I found that he was 
familiar with the facts connected with his uncle's tragic death. 
He told me that, according to family tradition, the old sailor 
weighted his pockets with heavy shot before he jumped over- 
board. Luther, the nephew, was a son of Edward and Esther 
(Cass) Hazen, and was born on December 27, 1820, at Groton, 
where he died on November 30, 1901, of heart disease, after 
an illness of two weeks. His mother was born at Richmond, 
New Hampshire. 



152 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

BENJAMIN GARFIELD. 

Benjamin Garfield, an ancestor of President Garfield, 
was one of the original proprietors of Groton, where he owned 
a "ten-acre right." His name is found several times in the 
early records of the town. See the printed edition of the 
same (pp. 56, 143, 145, 146, 148, 154), for allusions to him 
and to parcels of land situated in Broad Meadow and Pine 
Meadow, which he owned before the destruction of Groton 
by the Indians, though he did not return permanently after 
the re-settlement. He was the youngest son of Edward, Jr., 
and Rebecca Garfield, and born at Watertown, where he died 
on November 28, 1 7 1 7, aged 74 years. 



THE NAME OF GROTON. 

The town is indebted for its name to Deane Winthrop, a 
son of Governor John Winthrop and one of the petitioners 
for its incorporation. He was born at Groton in the County 
of Suffolk, England, on March 16, 1622-3 ; and the love of 
his native place prompted him to perpetuate its name in New 
England. He stands at the head of the first list of Selectmen 
appointed by the General Court, and for a short time was 
probably a resident here. At the age of exactly 81 years he 
died, on March 16, 1703-4, at Pullen Point, now within the 
limits of Winthrop, Massachusetts. I feel a special interest 
in his memory, as he and I were born on the same day of the 
month of March, throwing out the difference between Old 
and New Style of reckoning. 

A few years before the settlement of the town Emanuel 
Downing, of Salem, who married Lucy, a sister of Governor 
John Winthrop, had a very large farm which he called Groton. 
It was situated in what was afterward South Danvers, but now 
Peabody, on the old road leading from Lynn to Ipswich, and 
thus named, says Upham in his " Salem Witchcraft," " in dear 
remembrance of his wife's ancestral home in 'the old country' ' 



THE NAME OF GROTON. 1 53 

(I. 43). Downing subsequently sold it to his nephews John 
Winthrop, Jr., and Adam Winthrop, on July 23, 1644, when 
he speaks of it as " his farme of Groton." The sale is duly 
recorded in the Suffolk Registry of Deeds (I. 57). 

According to " The New England Historical & Genealogical 
Register" (XXIV. 56 note) "for January, 1870, Graten 
(elsewhere in the text called Groton) was the name of a pre- 
cinct in Roxbury. Here stood (1750) the 'Grey Hound,' a 
well known tavern, and a favorite resort of the Sons of Lib- 
erty, a few years later." It was a corruption of Greaton, the 
name of the man who kept the " Grey Hound " tavern in the 
neighborhood. 

Mr. Grenville Lindall Winthrop, a descendant of Governor 
John, in modern times has given the name of Groton Place to 
his country seat at Lenox; and his younger brother, Mr. 
Frederic Winthrop, has given the name of Groton House to 
his country place at Hamilton. 

The following item from the " Boston Daily Advertiser," 
September 6, 19 10, gives the latest intelligence in regard to 
the old manor house : 

Groton Place, in Suffolk, England, where John Winthrop, first Mas- 
sachusetts governor, was squire and patron of a church living before 
he and his son sailed for America in 1630, is to be sold at auction 
this week. The old manor house has long been gone, a modern 
house occupying the place, which has been occupied by tenant farm- 
ers. The old church stands, and a sturdy mulberry tree from which 
numerous cuttings have been transplanted to New England. 

The name of the town has proved to be so auspicious on 
this side of the ocean that it has been repeated in the States 
of Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Ohio, New York 
and South Dakota. With the exception of the town west of 
the Mississippi, I have visited them all, including the one in 
England. 

In these several visits I have interested myself to learn the 
local pronunciation of the word. I have asked many persons 
in all ranks of life and grades of society in regard to the mat- 
ter, and without exception they have given it " Graw-ton," 



154 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

which every " native here, and to the manner born " knows 
so well how to pronounce. It has never been Grow-ton, or 
Grot-ton even, but always with a broad sound on the first and 
accented syllable. Such was the old pronunciation in Eng- 
land, and by the continuity of custom and tradition the same 
has been kept up throughout the various settlements in this 
country bearing the name. The oldest form of the word is 
found in Doomsday Book, written in Latin more than eight 
hundred years ago. It there appears as Grotena, which by 
all analogy has a short penult. 



A "RAISING." 



In former years in the country, when a house, barn, or 
other framed building was to be erected, it was the custom 
to have a " raising." On such occasions the neighbors used 
to meet and give their combined help in aid of the under- 
taking. In this way the framework of wooden buildings was 
set up in a short space of time. 

The sills, beams and standards, duly cut by the carpenters, 
with mortises and tenons, were now ready to be put in posi- 
tion. Next in order was the placing of the various pieces of 
the frame where each one belonged, and fastening them with 
large wooden pins or pegs. The beams were heavy and the 
lifting them was hard, but with many men to lend a hand, 
the work was light. On such occasions a rude collation was 
always served, sometimes enlivened with cider and sometimes 
with rum punch. The day made a break in the monotony of 
country life ; and everybody had a good time. 

I remember the raising of George W. Bancroft's barn at 
the head of Love Lane, which took place — according to my 
recollection — in the year 1846, when there was a large 
number of persons present. 

I was a school-boy at the time, and was late at school in 
consequence of my attendance at the raising; and the whole 
affair made an impression on my youthful mind. 



WHITEFIELD. 1 55 



WHITEFIELD. 



The Massachusetts Historical Society has in its Library a 
copy of " Some Reasons Given by The Western Association 
Upon Merrimack River, Why They disapprove of the Rever- 
end Mr. George Whitefield's preaching in the New-England 
Churches" (Boston, 1745). 

The pamphlet is in substance the report of a meeting of the 
Association, held at Chelmsford, on February 13, 1 744-5 ( 
which was called to consider various objections that had been 
made to Mr. Whitefield as a preacher. One of the charges 
brought against him was that he was " enthusiastical, unchari- 
table, and destructive of the Peace and Order of the Churches of 
this Land." 

The last paragraph in the pamphlet is as follows : — 

For these Reasons, and many other which have been made publick 
by others, we do unanimously agree, to give no E ncouragement or 
Countenance to Mr. Whitefi eld's preaching or performing any Part 
of the Ministerial Office, in any of the Towns to which we stand re- 
lated as their Pastors, 
[signed] 

Samuel Ruggles, Pastor of the Church in Bellerica. 
Caleb Trowbridge, Groton, 

Thomas Parker, Dracut, 

W ilia nl Hall, Wesford, 

Daniel Rogers, Littleton, 

David Stearns, Lunenburg, 

John Rogers, Leominster, 

Josiah Swan, Dunstable, 

Ebenezer Bridge, Chelmsford. 

Rev. George Whitefield. — More than a hundred and 
fifty years ago George Whitefield was one of the most famous 
preachers in the English-speaking world. He was the son of 
an inn-holder, and was born in Gloucester, England, on De- 
cember 27, 1 714. At an early period in his youth he began 
to write sermons, and otherwise to give tokens of his future 
career. He led a life of religious zeal and self-denial, and 



156 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

after graduating at Pembroke college, Oxford, he was ordained 
in the church. Soon afterward he came to America, where 
he attracted large audiences, calling them to repentance ; and 
he swayed them as the winds do the forest trees. He was an 
effective speaker, and had a stentorian voice, which, according 
to contemporary accounts, could be heard a mile away. It is 
said that he preached to bigger crowds than ever listened to 
any other man ; and it is related of him that once he addressed 
an audience of 20,000 persons on Boston Common. At one 
time Mr. VVhitefield was closely associated with John Wesley 
and his brother Charles, but their relations became strained, 
and finally they separated. He had a falling out also with 
some of the New England ministry, as they did not altogether 
favor his methods ; but he was a power in the land and did 
an immense deal of good in showing sinners the error of 
their ways. He made seven voyages to this country, and 
preached here thousands of times, and died suddenly on Sep- 
tember 30, 1770, at Newburyport, where he lies buried. 

The Reverend Caleb Trowbridge, who was ordained at 
Groton March 2, 1715, and remained there until the time of 
his death, on September 9, 1760, did not sympathize with 
Mr. YVhitefield's views. 

According to the extract from "The Boston Gazette, or 
Weekly Journal," June 18, 1745, which is given below, Mr. 
Whitefield preached in the adjoining towns of Hollis, Town- 
send, Pepperell, Dunstable and Harvard, but he does not 
appear to have come to Groton, which at that time was the 
important centre of the neighborhood. From this fact I infer 
that his relations with Mr. Trowbridge were not close. 

For about these twelve Days last past the Rev. Mr. Whitefield has 
been out of Town, in which Time he has preach'd once on a Fast 
Day on the Account of the Cape Breton Expedition for the Rev. Mr. 
Emmerson at Maiden ; four Times for the Rev. Mr. Hobby of Read- 
ing ; five Times for the Rev. Mr. Mcgregre of Londonderry ; twice 
for the Rev. Mr. Emmerson of Nisitiscel [Hollis, N. H.J; once for 
the Rev. Mr. Hemmingway of Townshend ; once at Groton Precinct 
[Pepperell] at a new Meeting-House ; once at Litchfield; once at 



HISTORICAL INSCRIPTIONS. 1 57 

Timberlane [Hampstead, N. H.], once at Dunstable ; twice for the 
Rev. Mr. Secomb of Harvard ; once for the Rev. Mr Bliss of Con- 
cord ; and once at the Seat of Isaac Royal, Esq ; [Medford] . . . 
This Morning he return'd to Town, & intends, God willing, to preach 
at five this Evening at the Rev. Mr. JFcbb's [of the New North], and 
to take his final Leave for this Season of Boston, one Day this Week. 

Mr. Whitefield was an interesting character, and in this 
country he influenced the lives of thousands of persons ; and 
the effect of his preaching in many families has been handed 
down from generation to generation even to the present day. 



HISTORICAL INSCRIPTIONS. 

On February 20, 1880, the town of Groton dedicated three 
monuments bearing the following inscriptions, which were 
written by President Eliot of Harvard College. 

NEAR THIS SPOT 

STOOD THE FIRST MEETING HOUSE OF GROTON 

BUILT IN 1666 

AND BURNT BY THE INDIANS 

13 MARCH 1676 



HERE DWELT 

WILLIAM AND DELIVERANCE LONGLEY 

WITH THEIR EIGHT CHILDREN. 

ON THE 27TH OF JULY 1694 

THE INDIANS KILLED THE FATHER AND MOTHER 

AND FIVE OF THE CHILDREN 

AND CARRIED INTO CAPTIVITY 

THE OTHER THREE. 



COLONEL WILLIAM PRESCOTT 

COMMANDER OF THE AMERICAN FORCES 

AT THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 

WAS BORN ON THE 20TH OF FEBRUARY 1726 

IN A HOUSE WHICH STOOD 

NEAR THIS SPOT 



158 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

An oaken tablet was placed in the porch of the First Parish 
Meeting-house, which contains an inscription, as follows : — 

Yirst Parish Meeting-Hods^ 

BUILT 1755, 
REMODELED AND PARTIALLY TURNED AROUND 1839. 



Here were held all the Town Meetings from 1755 to i859: 

here also sat the court of general sessions 

of the Peace, and Court of Common Pleas 

for Middlesex County from me to 1787, 
as Groton was then one of the Shire Towns. 

By invitation of the parish the exercises were conducted 
by the Groton Historical Society, on June 17, 1899. The 
expense of the tablet was borne by Mrs. C. A. L. Sibley, and 
the words were written by the compiler of this volume. 

In September, 18 10, a granite boulder was placed by the 
roadside, near the grounds of the Groton School, bearing 
the following inscription : — 

here dwelt 
JOHN DAVIS, 

killed in his own dooryard 
by the indians, 

OCTOBER 25, 1704. 

The stone was taken from the farm of Theophilus Gilman 
Smith in the immediate neighborhood, and the expense of 
the cutting was borne by William Amory Gardner. The 
inscription was written by the compiler. 



FASHION IN GIVEN NAMES. 

It is interesting to note the changes that have occurred in 
baptismal names within a few generations. During the early 
days of New England, certain names that now seem uncouth 
to the ear were common in ever)' community. They were 



GROTON MILE-STONES. 1 59 

taken largely from the Bible, which was the only book univer- 
sally read at that period. Zerubbabel Kemp was living in 
Groton at the beginning of the eighteenth century, and he 
gave the same name to one of his sons, who lived to grow up, 
notwithstanding the infliction. Mephibosheth Adams was a 
resident in the west parish of Groton a hundred and seventy- 
five years ago, — and tradition says that he was known among 
his neighbors as "Fib" Adams, — but he spared his own 
boys. A class of girls' names, common in the last century, 
and representing abstract qualities, such as Faith, Hope, 
Charity, Temperance, Prudence, and Virtue, have now be- 
come obsolete. The good old names of Molly, Polly, Dolly, 
and Sally are never seen in their original spelling. Susie is 
considered a better form than Sukey, and Bessie is preferred 
to Betty or Betsey. At the present time, however, there is 
a tendency to take up certain names long out of fashion, such 
as Dorothy, Rachel, Esther, etc., and to bring them again 
into vogue. 

The name of Gabriel Lakin, of Groton, was kept up through 
several generations, and the name of Sibyl was in common 
use in the same family. John Frost, perhaps a kinsman of 
the well-known " Jack Frost," had among his twelve children 
one called Scripture, perhaps the maiden name of the mother. 
His eldest daughter was Jemima, and his three youngest 
children were named respectively Tryphena, Patience, and 
Submit. 



GROTON MILE-STONES. 

The earliest legislation in this Commonwealth on the sub- 
ject of guide-posts bears date February 28, 1795- At that 
time an Act was passed by the General Court requiring the 
selectmen of the several towns and districts, under certain con- 
ditions, to erect guide-posts at the corners and angles of all 
roads in such towns and districts ; and imposing penalties for 
non-compliance with the law. Before that time, in a few 
towns, individuals had set up stones by the roadside, marking 



l6o NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

the distance and direction to some important town ; and these 
persons often added their own initials, as well as the year 
when the stones were placed. 




At the present time there are several mile-stones in Groton 
which were set up during the eighteenth century. Two of 
them certainly were placed by Dr. Oliver Prescott, younger 



GROTON MILE-STONES. l6l 

brother of Colonel William Prescott, who commanded the 
American forces at the battle of Bunker Hill ; and two others 
were set up, probably either by him or at his suggestion, 
during the same period. They all are of slate ; and the 
largest stands by the roadside, at the southerly end of the 
village street, on the easterly side of the way, near the fork of 
the roads and close by the entrance to Mr. Lawrence Park's 
estate. The stone is between five and six feet in height, and 
is shaped somewhat like a capital letter P of colossal size, the 
upper part being considerably broader than the lower part, 
though the resemblance is not very close. 

The Charles River Bridge, leading from Boston to Charles- 
town, was opened on June 17, 1786, and soon became a promi- 
nent point to people living in Middlesex County. Some vandal 
has tried to chip off " Esq r " after the initials, but the letters 
can still be made out. 

The Reverend William Bentley, D.D., of Salem, in his 
Diary, recently published by the Essex Institute, gives an 
account of a trip which he made to Dartmouth College in 
the summer of 1793. On his way there he passed through 
Groton, and mentions this stone together with other entries 
in his journal which now are of interest. He writes: 

We dined at Bollan's [in Chelmsford] & paid i-> /, our engagement 
being to have no charges for the horsemen & his horses, & at ^ past 3 
set out for Groton. ... As we entered Westford we saw the best 
corn, & the best tobacco, & a few small hop yards. Corn being 
planted in all the farms & a patch of tobacco near many of the barns, 
& some towns through which we passed are remarkable for hops. 
. . From the rough roads we passed over several miles of pines & 
sandy land, & soon were relieved with the elegant seat of G. [eneral 
Oliver] Prescot, & the Buildings of his Son about ^ mile below him. 
The seat is opposite to the Boston road which at this place enters into 
the cross road to Worcester. . . . Gen. Prescot house has near it a 
stone shewing that it is 36 miles to Boston & 30 miles to Worcester. 
Called at the General's & found an elegant House in good order, but 
he was not within (ii. 41, 42). 

Another stone, about three feet high, stands in close prox- 
imity, just beyond the crotch, on the westerly side of the road. 



1 62 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

( hi this stone, also, an attempt has been made to chisel off the 
word " Esq." The inscription reads: 

O. P. Esq. 

Miles to 
Worcester 

1783 

A third stone, about three feet in height, stands near the 
Groton School, on the easterly side of Farmers' Row, at the 
south corner of Peabody Street, and was set up probably by 
Dr. Prescott. The top has been broken off, but the inscrip- 
tion remains, as follows : 



29 

Miles to 
Worcester. 

In front of the old tavern in the village, now known as the 
Groton Inn, is a fourth stone, belonging to the same period of 
time, standing out of the ground about a foot and a half, and 
perhaps set up by Dr. Prescott, which bears these words: 

Tc 

Boston 

35 

On the north side of the Great Road to Boston there is a 
slate slab, about four feet in height, which bears the following 
inscription : 

To 
Boston 

34 



GROTON MILE-STONES. 163 

The stone stands about a mile from the village, near Cady 
Pond, though probably not where it was originally placed. 
It is not known when or by whom it was put up ; but proba- 
bly the date goes back to the eighteenth century. The 
width near the top is about fourteen inches. 

According to the guide-board at the north-west corner of the 
Common, the distance from Groton to Boston is thirty-four 
miles ; and this is considered to be correct. In the years 1902 
and 1903 the selectmen caused to be set up, on the several 
roads leading to the outer limits of the town, granite posts 
marking the distance of each mile from the Town-house. 
Twenty-eight such stones have been thus placed by the road- 
side for the benefit of the wayfarer ; and they stand about two 
and a half feet out of the ground. 

It may not be amiss here to note the fact that there was 
some lettering on a boulder formerly in an old wall that stood 
within a few rods of the mile-stone mentioned at the head of 
this article. It bears the initials of Dr. Oliver Prescott as well 
as those of his grandfather, who more than a century before 
had cut his own initials on the same stone. It is possible that 
this inscription in the old wall first suggested to Dr. Prescott 
the idea of erecting mile-stones in close proximity to the 
boulder. The inscription on the boulder is as follows: 

I P 

1680 

Rebuilt by 

P 
1784 

rebuilt by 
S. J. Park 

1 841. 

The initials I. P. are those of Jonas Prescott, — rudely cut, 
undoubtedly by himself, as he was a blacksmith, — and O. P. 



164 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

are those of his grandson Dr. Oliver Prescott. S. J. Park 
was Stuart James Park, the great-grandfather of Mr. Lawrence 
Park, who now owns the adjacent land. 

Jonas Prescott was an active man in the affairs of the town, 
and the ancestor of a long line of distinguished families. He 
was the grandfather of Colonel William Prescott, commander 
of the American forces at the Battle of Bunker Hill, who was 
himself the father of William Prescott the lawyer and jurist, and 
the grandfather of William Hickling Prescott the historian. 

In the year 1876 this piece of stone wall containing the 
boulder and separating a part of the Prescott house-lot from 
the highway was removed. Three years after it was taken 
away, I endeavored to find the stone, then to all intents and 
purposes lost; and it was a long while before I got any trace 
of it. The late Willard H. Giles, at that time the owner of the 
farm, knew nothing about it, and in fact had never seen it. I 
was told, however, that it might have been used in stoning up 
the cellar of a barn built in 1876, and here I directed my 
search. With Mr. Giles's permission I employed two men 
for two days to take out and replace various stones, until the 
missing one was found. Subsequently I gave the memorial to 
Mr. James Lawrence, a lineal descendant of Jonas Prescott, who 
has had it set in the wall on the north side of his front gate on 
Farmers' Row, where it is likely to remain for many years. 

It may not be amiss to give here the derivation of the word 
" mile," which comes from the Latin mille. With the Romans 
a mile was a thousand steps, or paces {mille passuimi) ; and 
thus the word has come down to us in our daily speech. 



INSTANCES OF LONGEVITY. 

Mrs. Sarah C. Rock wood. 

While travelling homeward, through the state of New 
York, from a recent trip to the Southwest, I left the cars at 
Syracuse, on Thanksgiving Day (November 28), with the 



INSTANCES OF LONGEVITY. 1 65 

intention to call on Mrs. Rockwood ; but on reaching Cort- 
land I found that she had died on November 26. I was thus 
enabled to attend her funeral on the next day, and to follow 
her remains to the grave. It was a source of sad satisfaction 
to pay this last token of respect to the memory of one who 
had known my mother from her earliest infancy. 

Mrs. Rockwood was the second daughter and fourth child 
of the Reverend Daniel and Susanna (Prescott) Chaplin, and 
was born at Groton, on November 8, 1785. She was married, 
on May 1, 1828, to Abel, son of Samuel and Lucy (Hubbard) 
Rockwood, who died on November 21, 1828. She attended 
school at Groton Academy in the year 1797 under the precep- 
torship of Asahel Stearns. 

The following account of the venerable lady, with an 
engraved portrait at the head of the article, is found in the 
"Cortland Standard," November 28, 1889. In the reprint 
I have taken the occasion to correct some inaccuracies of 
statement. 

Mrs. Sarah Chaplin Rockwood, whose portrait is published above 
and who was the oldest person in Cortland County, died Tuesday 
afternoon, November 26, from pneumonia, at the advanced age of 
one hundred and four years. She was conscious nearly to the time 
of her death. Although up to a year ago Mrs. Rockwood had re- 
tained all her faculties, excepting hearing, to a remarkable degree, 
during the past few months her eyesight began to be seriously af- 
fected. Mrs. Theo. Chaplin Walton, of Chicago, her only near, 
relative, was with her during the last week of her life. To the last 
Mrs. Rockwood maintained a lively interest in the events of the day, 
and was an ardent Republican. For a number of years her home 
had been with Mrs. Samuel Bangs on Groton Avenue, and the funeral 
will be held there Friday afternoon at 2 o'clock. From a notice of 
Mrs. Rockwood published in the " Standard " at the time she cele- 
brated her one hundred and third birthday, we reprint the following 
sketch of her life, furnished by Mrs. Walton : — 

Mrs. Sarah Chaplin Rockwood was born Nov. 8, 1785, in Groton, 
Mass. Her father, the Rev. Daniel Chaplin, D.D., was a grandson 
of the Hugh Chaplin who settled in that part of Rowley which is now 
Georgetown, Mass., in 1639. Several of the family lived to an ad- 
vanced age, and Dr. Chaplin himself was eighty-six at the time of his 



1 66 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

death. On the mother's side, Mrs. Rockwood was related to Col. 
Prescott of Bunker Hill fame, and her childhood memories took in 
the scenes and incidents of the Revolution with the same interest and 
enthusiasm that we have for the days of the Rebellion. There is to- 
day a large old elm in the yard at the Chaplin homestead in Groton, 
Mass., set out by Mrs. Rockwood, when a little girl of seven or eight, 
on a rainy day after a cranberry expedition down in the swamp. She 
attended Groton Academy, and had as a schoolmate the late Amos 
Lawrence of Boston, who was a distant cousin. She often related 
with great animation their particularly good times at the monthly 
dances that were given at the close of school on the village common, 
and the " treats " of gingerbread handed around by the young men. 
She spent different years with her brother, Dr. James Prescott Chaplin, 
in Cambridgeport, who had the first private retreat for the insane in 
this country. She became a widow six months after her marriage to 
Mr. Abel Rockwood, and long after a half century she fondly cherished 
his memory. She spoke with a great deal of feeling of the visits paid 
her from time to time by the historian Prescott, who was as charming 
in manner as he was fine in mind. Advanced in years she came to 
New York State to be with her youngest brother, William L. Chaplin, 
who gave his life to the anti-slavery cause. He died in 187 1, and is 
buried in your beautiful cemetery. It was a frequent saying of Mrs. 
Rockwood's that she belonged to a generation taught to preserve life 
as long as possible. She certainly put in use the precepts of extreme 
carefulness in the way of diet, exercise, and methodical habits. She 
was eminently loyal to the past, and never forgot a friend. She also 
believed in and loved the present, while she waited the coming of her 
Lord with a calm and cheerful heart. 



A Venerable Lady. — Mrs. Rebecca Huse of Harvard, now 106 
years old, is probably the oldest person in New England. She was 
born at Groton, but moved to Harvard at the age of 15, and has no 
near relative living except a single daughter, having buried a large 
family of children. This venerable relic of a bygone age still retains 
to a remarkable degree of perfection her sense of sight and hearing, 
being but slightly deaf, and is remarkably active, making her own fire 
in the morning, and attending through the day to a large part of her 
household duties. Till the present year she has kept and cared for a 
cow, and attended to some gardening. 

" Daily Evening Traveller" (Boston), October 27, 1S65. 



INSTANCES OF LONGEVITY. 1 67 

Mrs. Huse's maiden name was Parker ; and she died at 
Harvard, on September 14, 1S69, at the age of 104 years, 2 
months, and 12 days, according to the records of that town, 
which say also that she was a daughter of Ebenezer and Dinah 
Parker, of Groton. Her parentage, as there given, is probably 
wrong. The only Rebecca Parker whose name is found on 
the Groton records, and whose age at all corresponds with 
that of the centenarian, is the eldest daughter of Oliver and 
Eunice Parker, who was born on November 22, 1760; while 
there is no entry of any Ebenezer and Dinah Parker. It is 
true that at that period the records are somewhat imperfect, 
and omissions of names are often found. Mrs. Huse outlived 
most of those who came immediately after her, as well as her 
own generation ; and it would not be surprising if the returns 
made to the town-clerk at the time of her death were inaccu- 
rate. But the fact which has the most weight in deciding the 
question is the following incident, related to me by the late 
Reverend John Barstow Willard, of Still River, a long time 
ago, but which I did not try then to verify or corroborate. 

Mr. Willard told me, perhaps thirty years ago, that he never 
saw Mrs. Huse but once, and then she told him of a drowning 
accident that happened on the Nashua River, when she was 
four years old. It occurred on Election Day, and she could 
just recollect the event. Her account of the accident is sin- 
gularly confirmed by the following item from "The Boston 
Post-Boy & Advertiser," June 4, 1764, a file of which news- 
paper I have examined with particular reference to this clew : — 

Last Wednesday [May 30, Election Day of that year] five Men 
going in a Canoe in Harvard [Nashua] River to catch some Fish, the 
Canoe sunk, and three of them were unfortunately drowned. 

An occurrence attended with such fatal results would natu- 
rally leave a deep impression on a child's memory, and par- 
ticularly in a small country town, where for a long time it 
would have been the subject of general conversation. 



Another account of Mrs. Huse, taken from " The Fitchburg 
Sentinel," July 2J y 1867, says that: — 



1 68 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

She remembers very clearly when her father started from home to join 
our army in the War of the Revolution, and recollects that he some- 
times came back to stay a day or two with his family and sometimes 
sent back small presents to his little girl. 

This account shows that her father was a soldier in the Rev- 
olution, which fact goes far to establish her parentage. Ac- 
cording to a muster-roll among the Massachusetts Archives 
(XII. 174) in the State House, Oliver Parker was a First 
Lieutenant in Captain Asa Lawrence's company of minute- 
men that marched from Groton to Cambridge, on April 19, 
1775, after the Lexington alarm. 

Hon. Ezra S. Stearns, of Fitchburg, under date of April 1 1, 
1907, writes me giving another instance of a Groton centena- 
rian who was " Azubah Burt, born in Sudbury, May 13, 1711, 
daughter of John and Rebecca Burt (Burk). The family re- 
moved to Groton, where she married Phineas Farnsworth, and 
in 1776 married, secondly, Matthias Farnsworth. Matthias 
Farnsworth died in 1796, and the Farnsworth Genealogy says 
that she died in 181 2, aged 100. If she died on May 13, 
181 2, she was 101. I fail to find any record of her death." 

Oliver Elliot was the third child of Elias and Ruth 
(Lawrence) Elliot of Groton, where he was born on August 
24, 1734. He was living at Mason, New Hampshire, as early 
as the year 1753, and was married at Groton West Parish 
(now Pepperell), on January 19, 1758, to Mary Fisk ; and 
they were blessed with eight children. The following ac- 
count of him is taken from the address delivered by John 
Boynton Hill, Esq., at the Centennial Celebration of the In- 
corporation of Mason, on August 26, 1868: — 

Oliver was an active, industrious man, and in the early period of the 
settlement, both before and after the incorporation of the town, was 
frequently employed in the public business, and elected to offices in 
the affairs of the place and town. In the last years of his life he felt 
the hard hand of poverty, but never wore the garments of a town 
pauper. He also was a soldier of the Revolutionary army. He died 
in September, 1836, aged one hundred and two years. He left numer- 
ous descendants residing in the town, and many who have sought out 
homes in other places (pp. 22, 23). 



INSTANCES OF LONGEVITY. 1 69 

Mrs. Sarah (Capell) Gilson died on Sunday, August 24, 1890, 
at the advanced age of 96 years, 9 months, and 4 days. She was 
a daughter of John and Mary (Perkins) Capell, and was born at 
Groton on November 22, 1797. She was a woman of marked 
character and full of early reminiscences ; and with an excel- 
lent memory, her conversation always gave great delight to 
her listeners. On April 1, 1856, she was married to Luther 
Gilson, who died on April 2, 1859, aged 69 years. She at- 
tended school at Groton Academy in the year 1808; and at 
the time of her death, she was the oldest person in town. 

Mrs. Roselle Hazard, wife of Peter Hazard, the Groton colored 
centenarian, died at Groton on the 28th of the last month. She 
never fully recovered from the excitement attending the celebration 
of her husband's one hundredth birthday. She was 98 years old, and 
had been married more than eighty years. 

"Boston Morning Journal," September 20, 1S79. 

Death of a Centenarian. Peter Hazard, the colored centena- 
rian of Groton, died on Wednesday last [November 10] and was 
buried on Friday. His one hundredth birthday was celebrated with 
a good deal of feeling by his friends and neighbors in the summer of 
1879. His wife never recovered from the excitement of the occasion, 
and she died a short time afterward at the age of 98 years. "Uncle 
Peter," as he was called, was born August 8, 1779, and was conse- 
quently more than 1 o 1 years old at the time of his death. He lived dur- 
ing many years in the family of the late Deacon Samuel Lawrence, and 
was supported by some member of this family to the day of his death. 
"Boston Morning Journal," Monday, November 15, 1880. 

Mr. William Kemp of Groton died on Monday last [September 28] 
at an advanced age of ninety-six. Mr. Kemp was born at Groton on 
May 8, 1789, and began to drum in early boyhood. His first appear- 
ance in the public service was during the year 1805, as drummer of 
the South Company of Groton, commanded by Luther Lawrence, Esq., 
afterward the Mayor of Lowell. He has been the father of nine chil- 
dren, and has had thirty grandchildren, thirty-three great-grandchildren, 
and one great-great-grandchild. During his boyhood Mr. Kemp 
knew Major Daniel Simpson, the veteran drummer, who celebrated 
his ninety-fifth birthday yesterday. 

'•Boston Evening Journal," Wednesday, September 30, 1885. 



170 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

INSTANCES OF LONGEVITY IN GROTON. 

Some remarkable cases of longevity and of regular succes- 
sion of deaths, during a single year, are given in the Groton 
"Spirit of the Times" for July 26, 1848. The list was fur- 
nished by Mr. Butler, and is as follows: 

Molly, widow of Amos Stone, died May 13, X847, aged 94 years 
and 1 month. 

Abigail, widow of John Lawrence, died July 10, 1847, a g e d 93 
years and 9 months. 

Mary, widow of John Capell, died September 6, 1847, a g ea " 93 
years, 4 months and 25 days. 

Major Amos Farnsworth, died October 19, 1847, aged 93 years, 6 
months and 1 day. 

Elizabeth, his widow, died December 11, 1S74, aged 90 years, 7 
months and 24 days. 

Lucy, widow of Deacon Samuel Rockwood, died May 12, 1848, 
aged 90 years, 8 months and 23 days. 

All these persons with the exception of Mr. and Mrs. Capell 
were natives of Groton, and each one of the six, at the date of 
death, was the oldest person in town. 



RAILROAD MEETINGS. 

The following article is copied from the " Boston Courier," 
November 19, 1846. The meeting of conference was held at 
Hoar's tavern, then kept by Daniel Hunt; and the action 
there taken determined the site of the "Junction," which has 
since become the town of Ayer. 

Railroad Meeting. A meeting was held on Monday [November 
16], in Groton, of the friends of Stony Brook and Worcester and 
Nashua Railroads, for mutual conference in relation to the location 
of the roads. Several gentlemen were present from Worcester, Nashua. 
Pepperell, and Lowell, among whom was ex-Governor Davis, Presi- 
dent of the Nashua and Worcester road. It was considered important 



RAILROAD MEETINGS. 171 

by the friends of the Stony Brook road, that a junction should be 
formed with the Nashua and Worcester at a point where that road 
would cross or intersect with the Fitchburg road and if possible to 
avoid the necessity of using the Fitchburg. This desirable object can 
be obtained by running the Stony Brook up to near School-house No. 
1 2, in Groton. At this point it will also intersect with the Townsend 
and Peterboro' road, as well as with the Fitchburg. The whole dis- 
tance from North-Chelmsford to this contemplated junction is about 
twelve miles, which would be the length of the Stony Brook road. 

We now hope our citizens will take hold of this enterprize and build 
the road with as little delay as possible. The whole line of the 
Worcester and Nashua road is under contract, and it will be all graded 
by a year from next January. Such, we understand are their terms of 
contract. If the stock for the Stony Brook is now taken up, we may, 
in about a year and a half, have a continuous line of railroad from our 
city to Albany in the West, and Portland in the East, and with several 
other places which cannot fail to add vastly to our wealth and to the 
increase of business and population. — [Lowell Courier.] 

The East Wilton and Groton Railroad, mentioned in the 
next paragraph, was incorporated by the New Hampshire 
Legislature, on July 10, 1S46, and was to extend from East 
Wilton to the State Line, where it was to connect with the 
Groton and East Wilton Railroad, which was incorporated 
by the Massachusetts Legislature, on March 25, 1845. The 
railroad, however, was never built, as its importance was 
considerably modified by the subsequent construction of the 
Worcester and Nashua Road and of the Wilton road from 
Nashua. 

East-Wilton and Groton Railroad. At the first meeting of the 
Grantees and Associates of the East- Wilton and Groton Railroad Com- 
pany, holden at Smith's Hall, in Brookline [New Hampshire], on 
Thursday last, Asa F. Lawrence of Pepperell was chosen President, 
and I. B. Sawtell, Clerk. Thomas Brown and I. N. Worcester of 
Hollis, Luther Tarbell of Pepperell, Wm. Gilson and Isaac Sawtell of 
Brookline, Wm. Lovejoy of Milford, and Ephraim Hackett of East- 
Wilton, were chosen managers for the corporation. 

" Boston Courier," Friday, October 23, 1846. 



172 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 



INSTANCES OF LARGE FAMILIES IN GROTON. 

THE following are some instances of large families in Groton 
between the years 1700 and 1800. The maiden names of the 
mothers, so far as known, are given within parentheses. 

Robert and Deborah Parker had sixteen children, and Jona- 
than and Ruth (Shattuck) Farnsworth had fifteen. Ebenezer 
and Abigail Blood, Joseph and Abigail (Sawtell) Parker, and 
Oliver and Sarah (Tarbell) Farnsworth were blessed, each 
couple, with families of fourteen children. 

Mrs. Joseph Parker, named above, " left two Hundred or 
upwards of Children & Grandchildren," according to the in- 
scription on her gravestone. She died on February 19, 1787, 
in the 90th year of her age. 

Jonas and Jemima (Holden) Green were the happy parents 
of ten children, all born within a period of less than eleven 
years, and among them were twins and triplets. By a second 
marriage, Jonas became the father of nine more children. 

Elisha and Elizabeth (Adams) Rockwood were favored with 
thirteen children. Isaac and Priscilla (Dodge) Bowers, John 
and Ruth Frost, Jonathan and Esther (Shedd) Lawrence, 
Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Page) Nutting, John and Elizabeth 
(Nutting) Nutting, Joseph and Mary (Prescott) Stone, Cap- 
tain John and Molly (Everett) Williams, and Nathaniel and 
Alice Woods were each the parents of twelve children. 



CELEBRATION AT GROTON, JULY 4, 1807. 

THE following account of a celebration at Groton by the 
Federalists, on July 4, 1808, is taken from the "Columbian 
Centinel" (Boston), July 8, 1807. 

I do not understand the statement therein made, that John 
Stuart delivered the oration, as it was subsequently printed 
and bears the name of Samuel Dana as the author; and the 
two letters that passed between Mr. Dana and the Committee 



CELEBRATION AT GROTON, JULY 4, 1S07. 1 73 

of Arrangements are given in the pamphlet and leave no doubt 
on the subject. Besides, the brief description of the perform- 
ance, as given by the Centinel, points clearly to the printed 
address ; and furthermore a caustic Review, three columns in 
length, which appears in that newspaper of August 29, ascribes 
it to Mr. Dana. Mr. Stuart, a native of Peterborough, New 
Hampshire, was then a law-student in the office of the Honor- 
able Timothy Bigelow, of Groton, and afterward a member of 
the Suffolk Bar; but perhaps, for some reason now unknown, 
the address was read by him. John Stuart was a son of Charles 
and Esther (Ferguson) Stuart, and was born on September 5, 
1782. He graduated at Williams College in the Class of 1804, 
and died in the year 1848. On June 29, 1809, Mr. Stuart was 
married to Sarah Tayler, only daughter of James and Sarah 
(Farwell) Brazer, of Groton. 

AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 

This joyful and glorious anniversary was noticed by the Federal 
Republicans of Groton, and the towns in its vicinity, with that "feast 
of reason and flow of soul," which should ever be exhibited at the 
recollection of the transactions of '76. The morning was welcomed 
by the usual artillery discharge of seventeen guns. At 10, A. M. a 
procession was formed, consisting of Clergymen, Civil and Military 
Officers, the Preceptor of Groton Academy with his pupils, and a 
numerous and respectable assembly of citizens of that and the towns 
adjacent, among whom were with pleasure distinguished many patriots 
and veterans, who had toiled to produce the event that occasioned the 
festivity of the day. The procession was escorted to the Meeting- 
House by the Concord Artillery, under Capt. [Thomas] Heald, and a 
company of Infantry, under Capt. [Luther] Lawrence, of Groton. 
The Throne of Grace was devoutly addressed by the Rev. Mr. [Daniel] 
Chaplin, of Groton, and a number of admirable pieces of music 
were performed, after which an Oration was pronounced by John 
Stuart, A. B. a performance which displayed the talents of that 
gentleman by the beauty of its style and diction, his patriotism by the 
vigor and manliness of his sentiments. — He reviewed the deeds of 
those sages and heroes who obtained our Independence, and drew 
tears for the blood of those who fell in the contest ; — he told " the 



174 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

tale of other times." "pleasant and mournful to the soul ; " he pointed 
out the causes which had operated to the ruin of all other Republics 
and warned us, lest by listening to the hypocrisy of demagogues, we 
follow them in the path to destruction. After dinner the following 
toasts were given, accompanied by responses of artillery : 

The Day we celebrate. — May its annual return find our beloved 
country free, prosperous and happy. 

The memory of our revolutionary martys, who generously planted 
the tree of liberty, and watered it with their blood. 

The memory of George Washington. — Those must be his truest 
friends, who were so while he was yet alive. 

The surviving Officers and Soldiers of the revolutionary army. — 
May our respect compensate for the penurious reward with which 
their services were requited. 

The American People. — May they ever remember that wisdom 
and virtue are as essential to preserve liberty, as they were to ob- 
tain it. 

The Rising Generation. — Born free, may they never beget slaves. 

Our Rights and Liberties. — Incapable of aberration, may they 
descend, like an estate tail, till time itself shall have no remainder. 

The President of the United States. — In repelling foreign insult, 
may he find us all united. 

The Governor of this Commonwealth. — In the exercise of his con- 
stitutional rights, he shall find a cheerful support from those, who did 
not elect him. 

The Militia of this Commonwealth. — May they unite the freedom 
of citizens to the discipline of soldiers. 

Caleb Strong. — May his private life be as happy, as his public 
has been meritorious. 

Agriculture. — May our honest farmers never bow the knee to im- 
posing despotism. 

Massachusetts. — In the penumbra of democracy, may it not suffer 
a total eclipse, but soon emerge and regain its pristine splendor. 

The Reverend Clergy. — As they well deserve, so may they freely 
receive our cordial attachment and support. 

The memory of Col. William Prescott, and his Fellow Soldiers from 
the vicinity, whose gallant deeds on Bunker's hill first taught our ene- 
mies to respect American valor. 



CELEBRATION AT GROTON, JULY 4, 1S08. 1 75 

The Fair Sex. — The tyrants of our affections, the only tyrants we 
will ever obey. 

The next Fourth of July. — May it find us free, prosperous and 
happy. 

VOLUNTEERS. 

The Officers and Soldiers of the Concord Artillery : Good men and 
true they must have been to have come so far, for so noble and glori- 
ous a purpose. 

The Orator of the Day : Were we all as correct and well informed, 
our Country would never have occasion to blush for any of her sons. 

The performances of the day were conducted with an unusual 
degree of decorum and propriety, united to a cheerful festivity. The 
citizens retired at an early hour, in order seasonably to prepare for 
the approaching day of rest. 



CELEBRATION AT GROTON, JULY 4, 1808. 

THE following account of a Fourth of July celebration is 
found in the " Columbian Centinel," July 13, 1808. It took 
place under the auspices of the Federalists, and was perhaps 
prompted by a similar celebration of the Democrats on July 
4, 1807. At that period the two political parties in Groton 
were very evenly divided, though with a slight preponderance 
toward the Federalists, and partisan feeling ran high. Mr. 
Moore, the orator of the day, was a young lawyer of Groton, 
and later was postmaster of the town. The address of the 
preceding year was delivered by the Honorable Samuel Dana, 
another lawyer of Groton, who had previously been the post- 
master, and it was subsequently printed. 

At GROTON — mass. 
'T'HE rising sun was welcomed with the usual salute of 17 guns — 
*- a procession was formed, composed of the Rev. Clergy, Civil 
and Military Officers, the Preceptor and Students of the Academy, 
and a numerous collection of citizens of Groton, and adjacent towns ; 
which was escorted to the Meeting- House by the Concord Artillery 
under Capt. Churchill, a platoon of the Groton Artillery, under Lt. 



176 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

Carleton,* and a company of Infantry, commanded by Capt. 
[Luther] Lawrence. The Rev. Mr. Chaplain [sic'] made a devout 
and fervent prayer ; several excellent pieces of music were performed ; 
and an elegant, spirited and patriotic Oration was delivered by Abra- 
ham Moore, A. B. At table the following toasts were given, and 
echoed by discharges of artillery : — 

1. The day we celebrate — The monarch may forget he sways a 
sceptre ; the prisoner that he wears a chain ; but an American will 
never forget the 4th of July. [Hail Cohwibia. 

2. George Washington — whose memory is embalmed in 
the hearts of his countrymen. May his principles and example be 
venerated by his successors. [ Washington'' s March. 

3. The Statesmen and Warriors of our Revolution. Gratitude to 
the surviving ; to the departed, peace. [Dirge. 

4. The Militia of our Country — The palladium of our liberties; 
alike ambitious to adorn the character of the citizen and soldier. 

[Soldier's jfoy. 

5. Massachusetts — Convalescent from a short fit of democratic 
mania ; of a sound heart and strong constitution ; but a little giddy in 
the head. [Crazy Jane. 

6. Governor SULLIVAN. — In discharging the functions of his 
office, may he listen to the advice of his Council. 

[ Oh ! listen then. 

7. Commerce — May the oaks of our forests soon be converted into 
74's, to protect it from its worst enemies, the invincible gun-boats. 

[Here a sheer hulk, &*c. 

8. Agriculture, the twin sister of Commerce — The " unseen hand " 

that rudely violates the one, despoils the other. 

[Speed the Plough. 

9. The Times — May they open the eyes of the blind. 

[DeviVs Dream. 

10. Office seekers — Abundance of bread and fish to all, who sacri- 
fice their principles, for the loaves and fishes. 

[Nothing but a place. 

* Ca/>t. [James] Lewis, of the Groton Artillery, (a demo.) t/io' courteously 
invited to appear with his company to celebrate the day, which gave our country 
birth, not only meanly denied Lieut. [Solomon] Cari.eton and his company the 
use of the cannon on the occasion, but unsuccessfully endeavored to dissuade many 
from the celebration. 



CELEBRATION AT GROTON, JULY 4, 180S. 1 77 

11. The Sun 0/ Federalism — The northern limb just emerged 
from an eclipse by the moon of Democracy — may we soon behold 
its whole disk in original splendor. \_Lucky Escape. 

12. The American Eagle — May he wing his way undisturbed by 
crowing of the Gallic Cock, or the roaring of the British Lion. 

\_Federal March. 

13. The speculations of modern Philosophy — Harmless when plan- 
ning dry docks, and describing salt mountains ; but destructive when 
contriving embargo laws. \_The heavy hours are almost past. 

14. Col. Pickering, the Daniel of Massachusetts. — He has 
weighed Belshazzar in a "balance," and verily the King is " found 
wanting." [Kick the beam. 

15. yOHN QuiNCY Adams — "Elections are the test of con- 
fidence, and their periodical return a check on its abuse." 

[/ 7/ set me down and cry. 

16. The memory of Col. Wm- Prescott, and the brave officers 
and soldiers of this vicinity ; who on the heights of Charlcstown, 
first taught British veterans to respect American valor. 

[Gen. Green's March. 

17. The reverend Clergy — May the diffusion of piety and virtue, 
the object of their care, be the reward of their exertions. 

[Adams and Liberty. 

VOLUNTEERS. 

1. The Orator of the Day — Our hearty thanks for his oration 
— elegant in style, glowing in sentiment, dignified in principle. 

2. The Officers and Soldiers of the Concord Artillery — Were all 
our citizens as generous, magnanimous and brave, we should never 
want cannon to proclaim our festivity, or to repel an invader. 

3. The American Seamen — Turned adrift, and tossing on the ocean 
of distress, without ballast or provisions — may they find safety and 
succour in the haven of Federalism. 

4. The Next fourth of July — May it find us free, prosperous, 
and happy. 

Harmony in sentiment prevailed, the strictest decorum was observed, 
and festive joy gladdened every heart. 



178 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 



LIST OF INDIAN WORDS. 

The following Indian names, applied by the early settlers 
to streams, ponds, or places in the original township of Groton 
and neighborhood, for the most part are still in common use. 
The spelling of these words varies, as at first they were written 
according to their sound and not according to their derivation. 
In the absence of any correct standard either of spelling or 
pronunciation, which always characterizes an unwritten lan- 
guage, the words have become so twisted and distorted that 
much of their original meaning is lost; but their root gener- 
ally remains. It is rare to find an Indian word in an early 
document spelled twice alike. In the lapse of time these ver- 
bal changes have been so great that an Indian now would 
hardly recognize any of them by sound. Even with all these 
drawbacks such words furnish one of the few links in a chain of 
historical facts connecting modern times with the prehistoric 
period of New England. As the shards that lie scattered 
around the site of old Indian dwellings are eagerly picked up 
by the archaeologist for critical examination, so these isolated 
facts about place-names are worth saving by the antiquary 
for their philological value. " Gather up the fragments that 
remain, that nothing be lost." 

Babbitasset — formerly the name of a village in Pepperrell, now 
included in East Pepperell. 

Baddacook — a pond in the eastern part of the town. 

Catacoonamug — a stream in Shirley, which empties into the Nashua. 

Chicopee — a district in the northern part of the town, and applied 
to the highway approaching it, called Chicopee Row. 

Humhaw — a brook in Westford. 

Kissacook — a hill in Westford. 

Massapoag — a pond lying partly in Groton and partly in Dunstable. 

Mulpus — a brook in Shirley. 

Nagog — a pond in Littleton. 

Nashoba — the old name of the Praying Indian Village in Littleton, 
now applied to a hill in that town as well as to a brook in Westford. 

Nashua — a river running through the township, and emptying into 
the Merrimack. 



LIST OF INDIAN WORDS. 1/9 

Naumox — a district, near the Longley monument, lying west of 
the East Pepperell road ; said to have been the name of an Indian 
chief. 

Nissitisset — applied to the neighborhood of Hollis, New Hampshire, 
and to a river and a hill in Pepperell. 

A r onacoicus — a brook in Ayer, though formerly the name was applied 
to a tract of land in the southerly part of Groton, and is shortened often 
to Coicus. Major Simon Willard's place was sometimes called Nona- 
coicus farm ; and his house was the first one burned in the attack by 
the Indians on the town, March 13, 1676. 

Nubanussuck — a pond in Westford. 

Petaupaukett — a name found in the original petition to the General 
Court for the grant of the town, and used in connection with the 
territory of the neighborhood ; sometimes written Petapawage and 
Petapaway. 

Quosoponagon — a meadow "on the other side of the riuer," men- 
tioned in the land-grant of Thomas Tarbell, Jr. ; the same word as 
Quasaponikin, formerly the name of a tract of land in Lancaster, but 
now given to a meadow and a hill in that town, where it is often con- 
tracted into Ponikin. 

Shabikin, or more commonly Shabokin, applied to a district in 
Harvard, bordering on the Nashua, below Still River village. 

Squannacook — a river in the western part of the town flowing into 
the Nashua ; a name formerly applied to the village of West Groton. 

Ta dm tick — a brook and a meadow in Westford. 

Unquetenassett, or Unquetenorset — a brook in the northerly part of 
the town ; often shortened into Unquety. 

Waubansconcett — another word found in the original petition for 
the grant of the town, and used in connection with the territory of 
the neighborhood. 

The following letter from the late Honorable James Ham- 
mond Trumbull, whose authority on matters of Indian phi- 
lology was unquestioned, gives the meaning and derivation of 
the original name of the town: — 

Hartford, Dec. 22, 1877. 

My dear Dr. Green, — Petaupauket and Petapawage are two 
forms of the same name, the former having the locative postposition 
(-<?/), meaning " at " or " on " a place ; and both are corruptions of one 



l8o NATURAL HISTORY AXD TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

or the other of two Indian names found at several localities in New 
England. From which of the two your Groton name came, I cannot 
decide without some knowledge of the place itself. I leave you the 
choice, confident that one or the other is the true name. 

" Pootuppog-' 1 used by Eliot for "bay,"' in Joshua, xv. 2, 5, literally 
means "spreading" or " bulging water," and was employed to desig- 
nate either a local widening of a river making still water, or an inlet from 
a river expanding into something like a pond or lake. Hence the name 
of a part of (old) Say brook, now Essex, Conn., which was variously written 
Pautapaug, Poattapoge, Potabauge, and, later, Pcttipaug, &c, so des- 
ignated from a spreading cove or inlet from Connecticut River. Pottci- 
poug Pond in Dana, Mass., with an outlet to, or rather an inlet from, 
Chicopee River, is probably a form of the same name. So is " Port 
Tobacco," Charles County, Md. (the "Pofcpaco" of John Smith's 
map 1, on the Potomac. 

But there is another Algonkin name from which Pctaupauk and 
some similar forms may have come, which denotes a swamp, bog, or 
quagmire, — literally, a place into which the foot sinks ; represented by 
the Chippeway petobeg, a bog or soft marsh, and the Abnaki/0/^7,7^. 
There is a Paittipaug (otherwise, Pootapaug. Portipaug, Patapogue, 
&c. 1 in the town of Sprague. Conn., on or near the Shetucket River, 
which seems to have this derivation. 

If there was in (^ancient) Groton a pond or spreading cove, con- 
nected with the Nashua, Squannicook, Nisitisset, or other stream, or 
a pond-like enlargement or " bulge " of a stream, this may, without 
much doubt, be accepted as the origin of the name. If there is none 
such, the name probably came from some "watery swamp," like those 
into which (as the " Wonder Working Providence " relates) the first 
explorers of Concord " sunke, into an uncertaine bottome in water, and 
waded up to their knees." 

Yours truly, 

J. Hammond Trumbull. 

The last suggestion, that the name came from an Algonkin 
word signifying swamp, or bog, is probably the correct one. 
There are many bog meadows, of greater or less extent, in 
different parts of the town. Two of the largest — one situated 
on the easterly side of the village, and known as Half-Moon 
Meadow, and the other on the westerly side, and known as 
Broad Meadow, each covering perhaps a hundred acres of land 



prince "Edward's visit. 181 

— are now in a state of successful cultivation. Before they 
were drained and improved, they would have been best desig- 
nated as swamps, or bogs. 



PRINCE EDWARD'S VISIT. 

There is a tradition, familiar to the older inhabitants of 
the town, that Prince Edward, afterward Duke of Kent and 
the father of Queen Victoria, in the early part of 1794, passed 
through Groton on his way from Canada to Boston. He is 
said to have tarried over night at the old Richardson tavern, 
which in its day was a famous hostelry and stood on the spot 
where the Baptist meeting-house now stands. One account 
says that he was kept there for two or three days by a snow- 
storm. Converse Richardson, the landlord, died, according 
to his tombstone, on March 8, 1794, which was only a 
month after the Prince's visit; and this fact tends to confirm 
the tradition that it was Mrs. Richardson who received the 
royal guest on his arrival at the inn. A bit of gossip and 
scandal has come down to the present time, connecting the 
good name of a Groton maiden with that of the royal traveller, 
which is hardly proper to be repeated here. In former years 
I have heard it from so many different sources that I am 
inclined to think there is some foundation for the story. 

Prince Edward had been stationed at Quebec, in command 
of a regiment, when he received an appointment to serve in 
the West Indies, and at once left Canada. He travelled in some 
style, accompanied by his aids and body-guard, and crossed 
Lake Champlain on the ice, where two of his sledges broke 
through and were lost. He stayed at Burlington during two or 
three days, and then left for Boston, where he arrived on Feb- 
ruary 6, 1794. The" Columbian Centinel," February 8, says : — 

On Thursday last, Prince Edward, son of his Britannic Majesty, 
arrived in this town from Quebec. We are told that his Highness has 
lately been promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, and is to have 
a command in the army in the West-Indies. 



1 82 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

LAWRENCE ACADEMY. 

During the early part of the year 1792 a voluntary associa- 
tion was formed at Groton, by certain people of the town and 
neighborhood, in order to establish an Academy where a higher 
education could be obtained than was given in the district 
schools of that period. A subscription paper was circulated 
for the purpose of procuring funds to erect a suitable building. 
A subscription of five pounds currency was the smallest sum 
received from any person, and was denominated a share ; ten 
pounds were called two shares; and so on. A complete list 
of the subscribers has never been printed, but a partial one 
appears in Mr. Butler's History of the town (p. 229). On 
April 27, 1792, the association organized by choosing trustees 
and the other customary officers ; and from this as a beginning 
sprang the institution known formerly as Groton Academy, 
but now as Lawrence Academy. 

The following is a copy of the original paper that bears the 
autograph signatures of the subscribers. The paper belongs 
to James Lawrence, of Groton, and was bought at the sale of 
the library of the late Reverend Andrew Bigelow, D.D., 
which took place in Boston on July 10-12, 1877. In the 
sale catalogue it was numbered 321 among the" autographs," 
on page 49 of the pamphlet. 

In Order to diffuse useful knowledge and render the means of In- 
struction & information more general & less expensive to Individuals, 
We agree to raise by Subscription in Shares at five pounds Each, a sum 
of Money for the purpose of Erecting a Suitable building for an Acad- 
emy in the Town of Groton, within sixty Rods from the Public Meet- 
ing house of the first Parish in said Town, and severally promise to 
pay the sums annexed to our respective names, to such persons as 
shall be chosen by a Major Vote of the Subscribers to receive the same, 
upon a Meeting of the whole being duly warned so soon as Conven- 
iently may be, after Sixty Shares are subscribed — And we further 
agree, that the Surplusage of the Money Subscribed after Compleating 
of said building, shall be applyed to the support of a proper Instructor 
or Instructors of said Academy, furnishing a Suitable Apparatus or 
whatever Else shall be most Conducive to the promoting of Educa- 



LAWRENCE ACADEMY. 



183 



tion — And if the sums subscribed exceed the purposes aforesaid, they 
shall be disposed of by a Major Vote of the Subscribers — And it is 
further agreed that all Matters Relative to said Academy shall be 
determined by a Major Vote of the Subscribers, and the Vote to be 

taken by Shares 

And in Case that hereafter said Academy should be dissolved each 
Subscriber or his heirs shall receive his Dividend of the Common prop- 
erty if any should remain in proportion to the Sum Subscribed 

Groton March 26' 



1792 



Oliver Prescott 
Benj2 Bancroft 
Dan 1 Chaplin 
Will 1 " Swan 
Joseph Rockwood 
Nathan Davis 
Aaron Brown 
Jonathan Keep 
Sam 1 . Lawrence 
Sami Rockwood 
Samuel Gragg 
Jeph Richardson 
Oliver Prescott Ju r 
Thomas Gardner 
Francis Champney 
Samuel Dana 
Timothy Bigelow 
James Brazer 
Nehemiah Tarbell 
Isaac Bowers 
W? Prescott 
Levi Kemp 
W5 Bancroft 
Joseph Moors 
Zechariah Fitch 
Jonas Stone 
Jonathan Fisk 
Samson Woods 
Samuel Hemenway 
Joseph Sawtell 3rd 



three shares 
three shares 
one share 
one share . 
one Share . 
Two Shares 
Three Shares 
two Shares. 
Two — D? . 
Two — D- . 
One Share . 
two sh — 
Three Shares 
Three Shares 
two shares 
two Shares 
three shares 
three shares 
one share 
one Share 
Two shares 
one Share 
one Share 
Two Shares 
Two Shares 
one Share 
one Share 
one Share 
one Share 
one Share 



£15 


— 


— 


15 


— 


— 


5- 


— 0- 


— 


5 





— 


5- 


-0 


— 


10- 


-0- 


— 


l 5~ 


-0- 


— 


10- 


-0- 


— 


10 • 


• 


• 


10 


■ 


• 


5 








10- 


— 0- 


— 


l 5 ' 


• 


• 


r 5~ 


-0- 


— 


10— 


-0 


• 


10 


• 


— 


r 5 





. 


15 


: O : 


=0 


5 


: 


: 


5- 


-0- 


— 


10 • 


• 


' 


5 





: 


5 


: 


: 


10— 


-0- 


-0 


10— 


-0- 


-0 


5- 


-0- 


-0 


5- 


-0- 


-0 


5 : 








5 • 


. 





5= 


0- 


-0 



184 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

Wilder Sheple one Share 5—0 — ° 

W™ Nutting one share 5= o — o 

Thomas Bond two Shairs 10 — o — o 

Henry Woods one Share 5 — o — o 

Peletiah Russell one Share 5= 0= o 

Isaiah Hall one Share 5 — o — o 

Jonathan Farvvell one Sha 5 — o — o 

Joseph Rockwood Jr 5 — o — o 

John Park one Share 5 — o — o 

Levi Woods one Share 5 — o — o 

Eph- Lawrence one Share 5 •• o •• o 

Jonathan Page one Share 5:0:0 

Joshuea Longley one Share 5=0=0 

Wallis Little two Shares io"o ,- o 

John Bancroft one Share 5 — o o 

Phineas Whitney one Share 5= o : o 

John Bullard one share 5 — o — o 

Richard Sawtell \ By Order, & in behalf \ 

Eben r - Woods >of the town of Groton > 200- — •• — 

James Prescott ) forty Shares ) 

565 . o . o 



REFLECTION OF LIGHT. 



The reflection of the electric light in Boston and the sur- 
rounding towns can be seen from certain elevations at a great 
distance. When the atmospheric conditions are favorable, it 
is distinctly visible on particular nights, from Indian Hill at 
Groton, in the neighborhood of Captain Moses Poor Palmer's 
house, and from other places in the town. A slight haziness 
in the air is needed in order to receive the reflection. The 
distance from Boston to Groton in a straight line is about 30 
miles, though the illumination is helped by the electric sys- 
tems of Newton and Waltham, which are somewhat nearer. 
From different points in the village of Groton the reflection of 
the circuits at Nashua, Lowell, Clinton, and Fitchburg is often 
visible, which places are 12 or 13 miles distant as the crow 
flies. 



AN AFFLICTED FAMILY. 1 85 

The illumination of the heavens during the great fire that 
occurred in Boston, on the night of November 9, 1872, was 
distinctly seen by various persons in different parts of the 
town. 



AN AFFLICTED FAMILY. 

JOHN Shattuck and his eldest son John, a young man nine- 
teen years of age, were killed by the Indians at Groton, on 
May 8, 1709. They were returning from the west side of the 
Nashua River and were attacked just as they were crossing 
Stony Fordway, near the present site of the paper mills, 
where they were killed. John Shattuck was the eldest child 
of John and Ruth (Whitney) Shattuck, of Watertown, where 
he was born on June 4, 1666. He married Mary, eldest daugh- 
ter of James and Elizabeth (Longley) Blood, who was born at 
Groton on September 1, 1672. Mr. Shattuck was a farmer, 
as everybody else was at that time. He owned land on 
the Nod Road which leads to the Four Corners below the 
soap-stone quarry. During the autumn of 1882 Messrs. 
Tileston and Hollingworth, of Boston, at that time the owners 
of the mill, caused a suitable stone to be placed by the way- 
side, bearing the following inscription: 

NEAR THIS SPOT 

JOHN SHATTUCK, 

A SELECTMAN OF GROTON, 

AND 

HIS SON JOHN 

WERE KILLED BY THE INDIANS, 

MAY 8, 1709, 

WHILE CROSSING STONY FORDWAY, 

JUST BELOW THE PRESENT DAM. 

1882. 

By an oversight this inscription was not given in connection 
with the " Historical Inscriptions " on pages 157, 158. 



1 86 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

A remarkable fatality seems to have followed Mrs. Shat- 
tuck's kindred. Her husband and eldest son were killed by 
the Indians, as has just been mentioned. Her father, James 
Blood, was likewise killed, September 13, 1692. So also were 
her uncle, William Longley, his wife and five children, July 
27, 1694; and three others of their children were carried away 
into captivity at the same time. A relative, James Parker, 
Jr., and his wife were killed in this assault, and their children 
taken prisoners. Her step-father, Enosh Lawrence, received 
a wound in an engagement with the Indians, probably in the 
same attack of July 27, 1694, which almost wholly prevented 
him from earning a livelihood for himself and family. The 
name Enosh is a variation from Enos, and not from Enoch, 
with which it is frequently confounded. This will be seen by 
consulting the Geneva version of the Bible, long used in 
preference to King James's version, by the New England men, 
and out of which Enos Lawrence was undoubtedly named. 
In this "Enosh" will be found where the authorized version 
has " Enos," in Genesis v. 6,7, 9-1 1 . The three Tarbell chil- 
dren, who were carried off to Canada by the Indians, June 20, 
1707, were cousins of Mrs. Shattuck. John Ames, who was 
shot by the savages at the gate of his own garrison, July 9, 
1724, was the father of Jacob, who married her niece, Ruth 
Shattuck. And lastly, her son-in-law, Isaac Lakin, the hus- 
band of her daughter Elizabeth, was wounded in Lovewell's 
Fight at Pequawket, May 8, 1725. These calamities covered 
a period of only one generation, extending from the year 
1692 to 1725. 



THE MINISTERS AT GROTON, IMMEDIATELY 
AFTER MR. DANA'S DISMISSAL. 

It is well known that the Reverend Samuel Dana, the min- 
ister at Groton for fourteen years before the Revolution, was 
not in sympathy with the patriots when the war broke out. 
In fact, the feeling'against him among his parishioners was so 



MINISTERS, AFTER MR. DANA'S DISMISSAL. 1 87 

strong, on account of his political views, that he was dis- 
missed from his charge, on May 15, 1775. In early times it 
was considered a public calamity for a town to be for many 
weeks without a settled preacher of the gospel ; and steps 
were taken at once to fill the vacancy, or rather to supply 
the pulpit temporarily. In the church records there is no 
entry between June 8, 1775, and September 5, 1777; and lit- 
tle is known now in regard to the affairs of the society during 
that period. Only from occasional diaries and other infor- 
mal writings do we catch glimpses of what happened ; and 
from such sidelights we gather a few additional facts. 

Within a short time there has been published in " The 
American Historical Review" for January, 1901, a diary kept 
by the Reverend Samuel Cooper from April 19, 1775, till May 
17, 1776. He was the minister settled over the Brattle 
Square Church in Boston; but while that town was in the 
possession of the British, he was living, first at Weston and 
then at Waltham, often supplying the pulpit in various towns 
of the neighborhood. From the diary (pp. 306-322) it ap- 
pears that during this period Mr. Cooper preached for several 
Sundays in Groton; and the different entries which relate to 
those occasions are given below : 

Friday, May 5. . . . D r Prescot of Groton visited me this morn- 
ing and propos'd my Supplying their Pulpit, propos'd to Mr Wood- 
ward his going there and that I w'd supply his Pulpit wch he c'd not 
comply with. . . . 

Saturday. 13. May. Went to Concord with Mr Savage, call'd at 
Mr Hubbard's: f'm thence to Mr. Emerson's. He was abroad, 
engag'd to pch for him on the Morrow, while he was to supply 
Groton. return'd to M r Savages, we din'd there. . . . 

Lord's day. 21. May. pch'd all day at Concord M r Emerson 
for me at Groton. din'd at his house. . . . 

May 27. Saturday. Sat out in the Morn g . 8 "Clock in my Chaise 
for Groton, bated at White's of Acton din'd at U rs Newman of Lyttle- 
ton. drank Coffee with M r Rogers reach'd Groton at Sunset ; Slept 
and Horse kept at D r Prescot's. 

28. Lord's day. Pch'd all day at Groton ; spoke with M r Dana 
after Service a. m. din'd at D' r Prescot's baptiz'd a child P. M. 



1 88 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

slept and Horse kept at D r Prescot's. a brave Action of our Army 
this day at Noddle's and Hog Islands. 

2Q. Monday. Sat out for Groton 8 °Clock. stop'd at M r [Willard] 
Hall's Wesford. saw M rs Gray and Family there, proceeded to 
chalmsford. . . . 

\June\ ii. Lord's d. Pch'd all day at Billerica, baptiz'd i. 
din'd and slept at M r Cummins. Visited in the Evg by Col Thomp- 
son and D r Danforth. M r Cummins pch'd for me at Groton. He 
sat out on Saturday before I arriv'd, and return'd home this Evening. 

July i. Went early to visit M rs Newell and Payne's Family, at 
M r Brook's : not at home, proceeded for Groton. bated at Hart- 
well's gratis. Din'd at D r Lee's : Concord. His son obligingly 
accompanied us towards Lyttleton. Coffee at M rs Newman's, slept 
there. Horse at M r Tuthill's gratis. 

2. Lord^s day. Went early to Groton after Breakfast, pch'd all 
day. read Proclamation from Continental Congress for a Fast thro 
all the Colonies and fra Pr. Congress respecting Sabbath, spoke 
extempore a few minutes upon the last. Din'd. Coffee, slept, and 
Horse at Dr Prescotts. 

j. Monday. Visited by Capt. Sartell D r Prescot had my Horse 
shoed at his own Expence. Came by Mistake the Westford Road to 
Concord. . . . 

[October] 18. Wednesday. Went my H. and Ch. to Watertown. 
saw D r Prescot who paid me 6o £ O. Ten r . for six Sabbaths at 
Groton. We Din'd at Deacon Fisk's. . . . 

According to Amos Farnsworth's diary, one Mr. Bigelovv 
was supplying the pulpit at Groton, as early as December 1 1, 
1775; and, according to the same authority, he appears to 
have preached there at frequent intervals for six months. 
On September 2, 1776, the town concurred with the church 
to hear Mr. Chaplin and Mr. Bigelow for four Sundays as 
candidates; and, on December 16 following, the town voted 
to concur with the church in the choice of Mr. Chaplin as 
the pastor. The votes, as recorded, do not give the Christian 
name of either candidate. Of course, the baptismal name of 
Mr. Chaplin is well known, as he remained in town during 
more than fifty years, until his death on April 8, 1831. The 
given name of Mr. Bigelow is learned with considerable cer- 
tainty by inference. In the year 1774 there was a Mr. Isaac 



A TRIP FROM WORCESTER TO LOWELL. 1 89 

Bigelow preaching at Holden, who received a call to be set- 
tled over the church there, but he did not accept the invita- 
tion. Without much doubt he was the same person who a 
year later was preaching at Groton, as at that period most of 
the ministers were graduates of Harvard College. 

Isaac Bigelow was the seventh child of Abraham and Abi- 
gail (Bullard) Bigelow, and was born at Weston, on May 2, 
1750. He graduated at Harvard in the class of 1769, stud- 
ied for the ministry, but never was ordained. His death 
took place on April 17, 1777, at so early an age that he 
did not become prominently identified with any church. 
While his father wrote the surname " Bigelow," he himself 
dropped the middle letter, writing it " Biglow " ; and thus 
the name appears in the Quinquennial Catalogue of the 
College. 



A TRIP FROM WORCESTER TO LOWELL. 

THE following extracts are taken from " The Massachu- 
setts Spy, and Worcester County Advertiser," June 11, 1828. 
They give an account of a trip from Worcester to Lowell, 
made by the editor of that newspaper (John Milton Earle), 
and they contain allusions to events of a long time ago, which 
will be interesting to the present generation. The " institu- 
tion of some note for the education of females," mentioned 
therein, was Miss Susan Prescott's school for girls, which in 
its day had a wide reputation. According to a catalogue 
printed in the year 1826, there were then 102 scholars in the 
institution, and they came from far and near. There may be 
a few persons in town, but certainly not many, who still re- 
member the theological controversy referred to, which raged 
at that period between the two religious societies. 

On a pleasant morning, a few days since, we found ourselves com- 
fortably seated in one corner of the Worcester and Lowell stage. 
Whether it was the mail line or accommodation, can be of no possi- 



190 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

ble consequence to our readers, for both, we believe, furnish good 
accommodations, and, such is the competition between them, that 
they both carry passengers from Worcester to Lowell, a distance of 
46 miles, for one dollar. With the same money a horse may be 
hired in Worcester to go eight miles, or a horse and chaise to go about 
five miles. This low rate of stage fare has a tendency to increase 
travelling, so that, although two lines run on the same day, both 
generally are well filled with passengers. . . . 

After changing horses we again pursued our journey through 
Shirley, a town noted for nothing in particular but a small settlement 
of Shakers, and arrived at Groton in season to dine. 

Groton is a rich and pleasant agricultural town, the seat of an 
academy, and of an institution of some note for the education of 
females. The peace and harmony of the town have recently been 
much disturbed, by a bitter and acrimonious theological controversy, 
which has led to a division of the old society, and the establishment 
of a new one. The inhabitants have heretofore anticipated that it 
might become the shire town of a new county, to be formed from 
towns taken from the counties of Middlesex and Worcester. At 
present, there does not appear to be much prospect of realizing their 
anticipations. Too much importance, we apprehend, is generally 
attached to the circumstance of a town being the shire of a county. 
If it does not possess the other requisite advantages for a place 
of business, merely being a shire town can never make it flourish, 
and, if it does possess them, it is of but little consequence to 
it, that the county business is transacted at another place. Several 
illustrations of this opinion may be found in our own state and 
elsewhere. 

From Groton, we passed through Westford to Chelmsford. In the 
latter town, the Middlesex Canal unites with the Merrimack River. 
At the junction, are three stone locks through which some boats 
were passing into the canal while we were there. The time occupied 
in passing a boat through one lock was about six minutes. . . . 

In the issue of the same newspaper is an advertisement of 
two different lines of stage coaches, which used to run from 
Worcester to Lowell, one of which went by the way to Groton ; 
and this was the line taken by Mr. Earle. The advertise- 
ment is headed by a cut representing an old-fashioned stage- 
coach drawn by four horses, with the driver sitting alone on 



A TRIP FROM WORCESTER TO LOWELL. 1 9 1 

the box, and lashing the animals with his long whip. For 
the information of the curious, I copy it as follows: 

[Cut.] 

NEW ARRANGEMENT 

of the Lowell and Worcester 

MAIL STAGE, 

OLD LINE. 

THE Mail Stage will leave Lowell every Tuesday, Thursday, and 
Saturday morning, and pass through Chelmsford, Westford, 
Littleton, Harvard, Lancaster, Sterling, and West Boylston, to Worces- 
ter. Another Stage will leave this at Westford, and pass through 
Groton and Shirley to Lancaster, where it again unites with this Stage. 
At Groton seats may be taken in the Stage which passes through 
Townsend, New Ipswich, Jaffrey, and Marlborough, to Keene. 

Returning, — Leaves Worcester every Monday, Wednesday, and 
Friday, at 7, A. M., and passing on the same routes, will, on its arrival 
at Lowell, meet with the Boston, Newburyport, Salem, and Haverhill 
Stages. 

fi®" At Lancaster this Stage, intersects with the Boston and Fitch- 
burg Stage, by which means passages may be had from Worcester and 
Lowell to Fitchburg, and from Fitchburg to those places. 

JEttST 1 There will also be an Accommodation Stage, from Lowell to 
Groton, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, which will 
make a daily line from Lowell to Groton, where seats may be taken 
for Keene every day in the week ; passing through Townsend, Ashby, 
Rindge, Fitzwilliam, Troy. Swanzey, to Keene ; and at Fitzwilliam 
seats may be taken for Brattleborough on Mondays, Wednesdays, and 
Fridays of each week. 

#iT Books kept at Frye's Hotel, in Lowell ; at Batchelder's Hotel, 
in Belvidere Village ; and at Thomas's, Bannister's, and Worthington's 
Hotels, in Worcester. 

There will be good Coaches and Horses, and careful Drivers. All 
Eaggage at the risk of the owner. 

&iT S. Bannister, Agent, Worcester — Dexter Bruce, Agent, 
Lowell May 14. 



192 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

The particulars given in this advertisement suggest many 
contrasts between the means of travelling seventy-five years 
ago and the present time. During this period of three-quar- 
ters of a century, the facilities of public conveyance have 
wonderfully improved, but not more than the ordinary com- 
forts of life have increased in the average household. It 
may be an interesting question to ask whether the human 
family has improved to the same degree in all those traits and 
qualities which make up character. 



JOHN BOYDEN. 



The American Antiquarian Society has recently published 
a Diary kept by Christopher C. Baldwin, one of its former 
Librarians, wherein he gives an account of a visit made in 
Boston during the month of January, 1834. While in the 
city he tarried at the Tremont House, a hotel which then 
had been open only for a few years. In describing the noted 
hostelry, he says : — 

The Keeper of this splendid House is Dwight Boyden. His 
father, Mr. Simeon Boyden, was born in Deerfield, Mass., and is 
now near 60 years old and lives with his son Dwight. The father of 
Simeon was John Boyden who was born in Groton, Mass., and died 
at the age of 88, having for his wife a daught. of Col. [James] Fry 
of Andover, that old Col. Fry who fought the French and Indians 
(p. 260). 



DR. CHARLES JEWETT WOOD. 

It may interest some of your readers to know that Dr. 
Charles Jewett Wood, the father of Major General Leonard 
Wood, formerly Governor of Cuba, and now Chief of Staff, 
United States Army, studied his profession at Groton. Dur- 
ing a part of the years 1857 and 1858 he was a student under 
the instruction of Dr. Miles Spaulding, in whose family he 
lived. At that time Dr. Spaulding occupied the house next 






DR. CHARLES JEWETT WOOD. 1 93 

south of the Brick Store, which was burned on July 8, 1892. 
Mr. Wood attended lectures at the Harvard Medical School 
during the sessions of 1858-59 and 1859-60; and in the cat- 
alogue of that institution he appears as a resident of Groton, 
with Dr. Miles Spaulding as his instructor. He received his 
degree for M.D. from the Eclectic Medical College of Penn- 
sylvania, Philadelphia, in the year i860, an institution now 
extinct. He began the practice of his profession at Dana, 
Massachusetts, but soon afterward removed to Hardwick, an 
adjoining town, where he remained but a short time. While 
a resident of this place he was appointed Hospital Steward 
of the Forty-second Regiment of Infantry, Massachusetts 
Volunteer Militia, then about to leave for the seat of war; 
and he was mustered into public service on Oct. 14, 1862. 
He continued in that capacity until the regiment was mus- 
tered out, on August 20, 1863. On leaving Hardwick, soon 
after his return from the army, he took up his abode at Po- 
casset, a village then in Sandwich, but now a part of the new 
town of Bourne, where he died on August 25, 1880. In the 
treatment of disease he was eminently successful, and at his 
death he left the enviable name of a physician who had won 
the love and respect of his patients. 

Dr. Wood was a son of Leonard and Malvina Fitzalan 
(Reed) Wood, and he was born at Leicester, on February 
18, 1829. His father was born at Brookfield, on February 
16, 1802, and his mother at Abington, on May 26, 1807; and 
they were married on April 20, 1828. His mother's mother 
was Susanna White, a descendant of Peregrine White. The 
son was married, on July 21, 1859, to Caroline Elizabeth 
Hagar, daughter of Jacob and Sophia (Cutler) Hagar, of 
Weston ; and they have been blessed with three children. 

As Dr. Wood at one time called himself a resident of 
Groton, the town will claim a little reflected honor from the 
remarkable career of his distinguished son, both as a statesman 
and a military officer. General Wood is the eldest child of 
his parents, and was born at Winchester, New Hampshire, on 
October 9, i860. 



194 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

YOUNG LADIES ACADEMY. 
The Young Ladies Academy at Groton, 33 miles from Boston. 

WILL be open for the reception of pupils, Wednesday, May 7. 
Instruction will be given in the following branches — Reading, 
Writing, Orthography, English Grammar, Arithmetic, Ancient and 
Modern Geography, and plain Needle Work, $3 per quarter. Add to 
the above, Rhetoric, Logic, Composition, History, Projection of Maps, 
Drawing, and Painting, $4.50 per qr. or the Elements of Geometry, 
Astronomy, Natural and Intellectual Philosophy, Chemistry, Botany, 
French language, fancy and ornamental Needle Work, $6 per qr. 

Miss PRESCOTT informs her friends and the public, that several 
Young Ladies and Misses can be accommodated with board, with 
her, on reasonable terms, and pledges her most assiduous attention 
to the health and improvement of all who may be entrusted to her 
care. 

Groton, April 3, 1823. 
"Columbian Centinel " (Boston), Saturday, April 12, 1823. 



A RUN-AWAY. 



Ran away from the Subscriber, on the 31st of January last, an ap- 
prentice boy, named Josiah Lakin, about 17 years of age, of 
a middling size, slow of speech, of a spiteful temper, had on a dark 
home-spun coat, green breeches or white overalls, carried of a gun 
and bundle of cloths. Whoever will return him to me, shall receive 
sixpence reward ; and I hereby forbid any person harbouring or trust- 
ing him on my account, as I will not pay one penny of debt he may 
contract. Ephraim Nash, of Groton. 

" Independent Chronicle ; and the Universal Advertiser " (Boston), February 12, 
1789- 

ESTATE OF EZRA PRESCOTT. 

All persons indebted to, or have any demands against the estate 
of Mr. Ezra Prescott, late of Groton, deceased, are desired to 
exhibit the same to the subscriber in order for settlement. 

David Goodhue, Administrator. 
Westford, August 4th, 1789. 

"Independent Chronicle: and the Universal Advertiser" (Boston), August 20, 
17S9. 



CURIOUS WORDS AND PALINDROMES. 1 95 

THE GROTON ANCESTRY OF GOVERNOR 
ANDREW. 

The following account, with the footnote, is taken from 
"The Life of John A. Andrew " (Boston, 1904), by Henry 
Greenleaf Pearson : — 

In the month of July, 181 7, Jonathan Andrew brought his bride to 
his little house in the country town of Windham, Maine. He was a 
native of Salem, who for the sake of his health had some ten years 
before settled in Windham near a married sister ; now, at thirty- 
five, he was the prosperous owner of the " store," where the farmers 
came to barter. His wife, 1 a woman of great personal attractiveness, 
had, strangely enough for those times, pursued her vocation of teacher 
until the age of thirty-three unmarried. The fjrst child of this union. 
John Albion Andrew, was born on May 31, 18 18. 



CURIOUS WORDS AND PALINDROMES. 

The following article is taken from the Boston Sunday 
Globe, for April 7, 1907: — 

In a letter to the Globe, Dr. Green writes as follows of the interest- 
ing words called palindromes. He says : 

There are in the English language certain words, and sometimes 
whole sentences of which the letters composing them, taken either in 
direct or in reverse order, read the same. Such combinations are 
called palindromes, a name derived from two Greek words, meaning to 
run again, that is, the letters run or read backward as well as forward. 

When the first man met the first woman — whose name, Eve, by 
the way, is a palindrome, — he may have introduced himself to her 
thus : " Madam, I 'm Adam." In this supposed case I assume that 
he spoke English, and not a Garden-of-Edenish dialect, and if my 
supposition be correct, he made use of a palindromic expression. 

1 Nancy Green Pierce, born in Westmoreland, New Hampshire, July 27, 1784, 
married to Jonathan Andrew on July 14, 1S17, was the daughter of John Pierce 
and Sally Farnsworth. Her father was born in Groton, Massachusetts, and 
was connected with the family of President Franklin Pierce ; her mother, born 
April 12, 1755, was one of the eight children of Deacon Isaac Farnsworth, of 
Groton, and Anna Green, who were married December 4, 1744. (I. i, 2.) 



196 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

Among the simple words of this kind or instances of whole sen- 
tences, are deed, deified, gog, Hannah, level, minim, redder, nun, 
repaper, reviver, rotator, sexes, shahs, and tat. " Was it a cat I saw?" 
is palindromic. 

Barring the spelling, the following sentence may be given : " Lewd 
did I live & evil did I dwel." Another example is : " Desserts I desire 
not, so long no lost one rise distressed." It is said that Napoleon 
was once asked whether he could have invaded England, when he 
replied : " Able was I ere I saw Elba." This is a good specimen of a 
palindrome, but of course the reply was never made, as he would have 
answered in French. Here is one in Latin : " Subi dura a rudibus." 
" Endure hard things from the rude." 

The following list of five words furnishes a remarkable combination 
of letters. With one exception they are all Latin words in good re- 
pute, and the letters are capable of many regular transformations : 

SATOR 
AREPO 
TENET 
OPERA 
ROTAS 

The first letter of each word, read downward from the top of the 
list, spells the first word ; and the second letter of each word read in 
the same way, spells the second word ; and so on through the list. 
Beginning at the top of each word, read backward, spells the corre- 
sponding word in the list under it, that is, the top word spells the bot- 
tom word, the second word from the top spells the second word from 
the bottom ; and so on. Again, beginning at the bottom of the list 
the last letter of each word, read upward, spells the word at the top ; 
and in the same way the second letter of each word spells the second 
word from the top ; and so on through the list again. 



DR. JOSHUA GREEN. 

The following obituary notice of Dr. Green was printed in 
" The New-England Historical and Genealogical Register " 
(XXX. 126) for January, 1876: — 

Joshua Green, M.D., of Groton, Mass., died June 5, 1875, at 
the residence of his son-in-law, Dr. Charles Y. Swan, in Morristown, 



DR. JOSHUA GREEN. 1 97 

N. J., aged 77. He was a son of Joshua and Mary (Moseley) Green, 
and was born in Wendell, Mass., October 8, 1797. He was a de- 
scendant in the 7th generation from Percival 1 Green of Cambridge, 
through Jo/in 2 , Joseph*, Joseph*, Joshua 5 , and Joshua 6 , his father. 
A genealogical account of this family in the Register for April, 
186 1 (XV. 105-9), gi yes further particulars of his ancestors. 

He fitted for college at New Salem, Westfield and Milton acad- 
emies, and was graduated at Harvard College in the class of 18 18. 
He studied medicine with Dr. John C Warren, and, immediately 
after taking his medical degree, in 1821, was appointed apothecary 
at the Massachusetts General Hospital, the first year that it was 
opened for the reception of patients. At that time the apothecary, 
in addition to his ordinary duties, performed those of house phy- 
sician and house surgeon. He began the practice of medicine at 
Sunderland, Mass., in 1823, and remained there till 1825, when he 
removed to Groton. He retired from the active practice of his 
profession forty years ago. 

In 1836 and 1837, he represented the town of Groton in the 
Massachusetts legislature. For many years he was a trustee of the 
Lawrence Academy and secretary or president of the board. 

In the summer of 1832 he had an attack of pulmonary hem- 
orrhage, which rendered it necessary for him to pass the succeeding 
winter in Cuba. The trip seemed to restore him to perfect health. 
For some years before his death he suffered from paralysis, from 
which disease he died. 

He married, Jan. 5, 1824, Eliza Lawrence, daughter of Major 
Samuel and Susannah Lawrence, of Groton. See her obituary, 
ante, XXVIII. 486, and tabular pedigree of Lawrence, X. 297. They 
had six children, namely : 1. William Lawrence, d. young; 2. Wil- 
liam Lawrence, merchant, deceased ; 3. Henry Atkinson, merchant, 
of Boston; 4. Samuel Abbott, M.D., city physician of Boston; 
5. Elizabeth Lawrence, m. first, John Kendall (Dart. Coll. 1853) ; 
m. second, Charles Young Swan, M.D. ; 6. Joshua, d. young. 

He was admitted to this society as a corresponding member, 
August 18, 1849. He was much interested in antiquarian and gen- 
ealogical studies, and was a diligent collector of books and manu- 
scripts illustrating them. He was a subscriber to the Register 
from its first publication. 



198 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

WILLIAM L. GREEN. 

William Lawrence Green, eldest child of Dr. Joshua 
and Eliza (Lawrence) Green, died at his father's home in 
Groton, on October 21, 1847. The following notice of him 
appeared in "The Boston Olive Branch," November 8, 1847, 
and was written by the late Dr. David Keyes Hitchcock, of 
Newton. 



MR. WILLIAM L. GREEN. 

Died in Groton, Mr. William L. Green, of the firm of Jewett, 
Tebbetts & Green, of Boston, aged 21 years. 

One of the most interesting and promising young men in our city 
has been smitten in death. In the morning of life, in the midst of 
usefulness, surrounded by a large circle of devoted friends, the manly 
form has been laid low by the King of Terrors. Disease which 
before had never visited him, soon assumed a dangerous form ; 
and in a few days — and to his affectionate relatives, days of 
anxious fear and hope — life's silver cord was loosed and the 
golden bowl was broken ! 

Bitter as is this bereavement, it cannot but be a sweet conso- 
lation to the afflicted parents to know, that though death has 
deprived them of a most amiable, affectionate and beloved son, it 
cannot rob them of the sweet recollections of his virtues or the 
sacredness of his memory ; for as deep as the wounds which this 
bereavement has made, are they embalmed in their hearts, where 
time shall neither deface nor erase them, but where they shall live 
forever. 

The funeral of the deceased was numerously attended, and among 
those assembled were to be found a number from the city. The 
Rev. Mr. Phelps, of G, made an appropriate address and a very im- 
pressive prayer, and all present seemed to feel that they were in the 
"house of mourning." As the tear stole down the cheeks of those 
who came to pay their last tribute of respect and affection to the 
memory of the departed, the silent prayer ascended to heaven in be- 
half of the sorrowing parents, that they might be sustained in this 
their hour of trial and sadness, and that it might work out for them 
"a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 

H. 



HENRY A. GREEN, ESQ. 199 

HENRY A. GREEN, ESQ. 

THE following notice of Mr. Green appeared in the " Satur- 
day Evening Gazette" (Boston), January 10, 1891, and was 
written by the editor, Colonel Henry Grosvenor Parker, who 
had been his friend for many years : — 

Forty years ago no more striking figure could be seen in Bos- 
ton streets than that of Mr. Henry Atkinson Green. Commanding 
in stature, graceful in movement, elegant in dress, there was in every 
manifestation of the man the unmistakable air of gentleman. Men 
and women alike turned to look at and admire him. In those days 
there was a Boston aristocracy that was a real one, and the rest of 
mankind were separated by a dividing line so marked as to amount 
to a distinction of caste, as it were, between the few who composed 
the charmed circle and the many worthy people who were clearly 
outside it. This barrier was broken by the war of the Rebellion, 
when the heart of the aristocratic mother and that of the democratic 
mother bled alike over the sacrifice of their own, and when humanity 
and brains asserted themselves above and beyond the accident of po- 
sition, and the rich men of that day and their descendants became 
the poor men of a later time. Mr. Green'was in the charmed circle 
and of it. He was a Lawrence, a favorite in society, and one of the 
earlier members of the Somerset Club. But he was also a man 
among men, educated himself to trade, mastered the dry goods com- 
mission business in the house of Wilkinson, Stetson & Co., in Federal 
street, and in that of Tucker, Newton & Mills, in which he became a 
partner, and continued so in the firm's changes (Mackintosh, Green 
& Company) until his death ; all the while " a hail fellow well met " 
with the trade, popular with buyer and seller, a kind friend to the 
" younger boys in the store," an excellent salesman, a careful dealer, 
and a wise and conservative investor of his own earnings. His man- 
ner was frank, and his voice was at once manly and musical. It was 
a distinct, emphatic sound, and not an aspiration. It was magnetic 
in its quality. Mr. Green made his own fortune. He was not 
above work, and always honored intelligent workers. He was fond of 
music and the theatre and the last novel, but never cared much for 
society, so called. His impulses were kindly in every relation of life. 
He detested a snob, especially a poor and incapable one. He had 
no patience with a sham of any kind. Among his warmest friends 



200 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

were the strongest business men in Boston, whose judgment he re- 
spected and whom, though not in his line of life, he was glad to meet 
in all places and under any circumstances. Mr. Green had long 
been warned that he was a minute man, but his end was sudden 
when it came. His last two years, made happy in many ways, were 
quiet, thoughtful, elevating. His religion was simply " Do unto oth- 
ers as you would that others should do to you." It is singular that 
his favorite cousin, Mrs. William W. Tucker, should have died in 
Paris on the same day [January 8]. Mr. Green's funeral took place yes- 
terday [January 10] at 10 o'clock, at his late residence, No. no 
Newbury street, and was largely attended. After the simple service 
of the Episcopal Church, the remains were taken to Groton, for inter- 
ment in the family lot. 



Henry Atkinson Green, Esq., died at his residence in Newbury 
Street, Boston, on Jan. 8, 189 1. He was a son of Dr. Joshua and 
Eliza (Lawrence) Green, and born at Groton, on April 29, 1828. 
He was educated at the academy in his native town, and in 1846 
came to Boston to live. At the time of his death, and for many years 
previously, he was a member of the firm of Mackintosh, Green 
& Co. His wife, Mrs. Emily (Wagner) Green, died on Jan. 4, 1885. 
Mr. Green left two married children : Mrs. Caroline Sargent Green, 
wife of William Amory Meredith, of London, England ; and William 
Lawrence Green, of Albany, N. Y. The interment took place at 
Groton. 

"The New-England Historical and Genealogical Register" (XLV. 173) for 
April, 1S91. 



INCORPORATED INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING. 

Lawrence Academy, founded in 1792, was incorporated 
as Groton Academy on September 28, 1793. The present 
name was given by Special Act passed on February 28, 1846. 

The Groton School, opened in October, 1884, was incor- 
porated by an Act passed on March 17, 1893. 

The Lowthorpe School of Landscape Architecture, Garden- 
ing and Horticulture for Women was incorporated, under the 



GOVERNOR BOUTWELL. 201 

general law, on December 17, 1909. The proposal to estab- 
lish the school, dated on September 11, 1901, was issued by 
Mrs. Edward Gilchrist Low. 



HON. GEORGE S. BOUTWELL. 

Governor BOUTWELL was born at Brookline, Massa- 
chusetts, on January 28, 1818, and at the time of his election 
was under thirty-three years of age. 

It is somewhat singular that there have been six other 
Governors of Massachusetts born in the same year as Mr. 
Boutwell ; and they are as follows : — 

William Claflin, born at Milford, on March 6. 
John Albion Andrew, born at Windham, Maine, on May 31. 
Henry Joseph Gardner, born at Dorchester, on June 14. 
Alexander Hamilton Rice, born at Newton, on August 30. 
Thomas Talbot, born at Cambridge, New York, on September 7. 
Benjamin Franklin Butler, born at Deerfield, New Hampshire, 
on November 5. 

All these men are now dead. Between 185 1 and 1883, 
inclusive, a period of thirty-three years, the administrations 
of these several Governors covered an interval of eighteen 
years. 



MR. AND MRS. SAMUEL A. SHATTUCK. 

The following tributes were paid to the character of Mr. 
and Mrs. Samuel A. Shattuck by one who knew them both 
intimately. In his opinion they each represented the high- 
est type of Christian character. As a mark of respect and 
affection this volume is inscribed to their memory. The 
first notice is found in the "Boston Evening Transcript" 
(p. 15), September 13, 1905; and the other in substance 



202 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 

appears in the issue of the same newspaper (p. 5), De- 
cember 9, 1908. 

Mr. Samuel Augustus Shattuck died suddenly at Groton, on 
Monday, Sept. 4. He was an only son of Luther and Polly Prescott 
(Savvtell) Shattuck, and was born on Oct. 27, 1825. A native of 
Groton and a life-long resident, he was well known throughout the 
neighborhood, and no one in the town had a higher reputation for 
integrity and honesty and for all the virtues which make up Christian 
character. He was brought up on a farm and always followed the 
calling of a farmer. He might have held any office in the gift of his 
neighbors, but his innate modesty was such that he could never be 
induced to accept a public position. His mission, which he fulfilled 
completely, was to serve as a conspicuous example of that silent 
influence which actions rather than words exert on the life of 
friends and others. The words of Tennyson might well be applied 

to him : 

Kind hearts are more than coronets, 
And simple faith than Norman blood. 



Mrs. Sarah Parker Shattuck died, after a long and painful illness, 
at Groton, on Tuesday [December 8J. She was a native of that 
town, where she was born on January 2, 1831, and where her family 
had lived for many generations. She was a distant kinswoman of her 
husband, and before her marriage they both bore the same family 
name. Mrs. Shattuck was an active member of the Congregational 
Church and was connected with various social and religious organi- 
zations in her neighborhood. She will be greatly missed in the town, 
where her counsels, often needed and always freely given, were so 
helpful. Her husband died three years previously, and she leaves 
no children. 



INDEX. 



INDEX. 



Academy, Young Ladies, 194. 

Ames, Joel, 147. 

Andrew, John Albion, Groton ancestry 

of, 195. 
Animals, wild, 77-79. 
Apple-trees, age of, 76. 
Avery, William, minerals in Groton, 

S3-86. 

B 

Bainbridge, Commodore William, and 

the Lakin farm, 149, 150. 
Baptistery, 94. 
Batchelder, Charles Foster, mocking- 

birds found in Groton, 81, 82. 
Bigelow School, Boston, 121. 
Billerica Bridge, 124-128. 
Birds, 32-42. 
Blotter of 1802, 109. 
Blowth, 74, 75. 
Bog-ore, 92-94. 
Boutwell, George Sewall, Governor, 

201 ; cultivation of hops, 65, 66 ; shade 

and ornamental trees, 88-92. 
Boyden, John, 192. 
Bridges, Middlesex County, 139-141. 
Brooks, 57-59. 

Browne, Thomas, dish-turner, 76. 
Building, a " raising," 154. 



Candles, tallow-dips, 97. 

Causey, 74. 

Celebrations, July 4, 1S07 and 180S, 

172-177. 
Chamberlain, Edward G., mountains 

seen from Gibbet Hill, 66-69. 



Chelmsford, foundry at, 93. 

Circus and the show, 145, 146. 

Coal, hard, 96. 

Cooper, Samuel, diary, 1775, 1776, 187, 



1S8. 



D 



Dark Day, 1780, 141-145.' 
Dates of local interest, 103, 104. 
Davis, John, inscription on boulder, 

158. 
Deed, of 1674, 129, 130. 
Deer, wild, 105-107. 
Dish-turner, 76. 
Douglass, William, Summary, 79, 80. 



Edward, Prince, visit to Groton, 1794, 
181. 



Families, instances of large, 172. 

Family, afflicted, 185, 186. 

Fauna, 25-74. 

Federalists, celebrations, 1807, !8o8, 

172-177. 
Fish, 29. 

Flint, Abigail, deed of 1674, 129. 
Flora, 1-26. 

Flowers and plants, 6-20. 
Foundry, Chelmsford, 93. 
Fox, silver-gray, 83. 
Freshet, 1751, 108. 

G 

Garfield, Benjamin, 152. 
Geography of Groton, 46-69, 94-96. 



2o6 



INDEX. 



Gibbet Hill, 117, 118. 

Gibbet Hill, mountains seen from, 66-69. 

Glacial striation, 105. 

Governors born in 1818, 201. 

Green, Henry Atkinson, 199, 200. 

Green, Joshua, 196, 197. 

Green, William Lawrence, 198. 

Groton, name of, 152-154. 

Groton Water Company, 98. 

H 

Hallbeck, Axel C., moat, 73. 
Hartwell, Edward Mussey, moat, 70-73. 
Hazen, Benjamin, a naval hero, 151. 
Hill, Elizabeth Sewall, flora and fauna 

of Groton, 1-45. 
Hills, 53-55; height of some Groton, 

99. 
Hollis, N. H., old deed of 1674, 129, 

130. 
Hops, cultivation of, 65, 66. 
Housen, 74. 
Howe, Lucinda, 147. 
Huse, Mrs. Rebecca, 166-168. 

I 

Incorporated institutions of learning, 

200. 
Independence Day celebrations, 1807, 

180S, 172-177. 
Indian words, list of, 178-18 1. 
Insects, 27-28. 

Inscriptions, historical, 157, 158. 
Iron, bog-ore, 92-94. 



James's Brook, 130, 131 



Lakin, Josiah, 194. 

Lakin Farm, Commodore Bainbridge 

and the, 149, 150. 
Lawrence Academy, established 1792, 

1S2-184. 
Lawrence School, Boston, 121. 
Leach-tubs, 82. 
Light, reflection of, 184, 185. 



Longevity, instances of, 161-170. 
Longley, William, inscription on mon- 
ument, 157. 

M 

Mail-stage, Lowell and Worcester, 191, 

192. 
Mammals, 43-45. 
Meadows, 55-57. 
Meeting-house, inscription on tablet, 

1899, 158; on monument, 157. 
Mile-stones, Groton, 159-164. 
Mill-sites, old, 121-124. 
Minerals, by Dr. William Avery, 83-86- 
Ministers of Groton, after Mr. Dana's 

dismissal, 186-1S9. 
Mistake, odd, 147. 
Moat, by E. M. Hartwell, 70-73. 
Mocking-birds, 81, 82. 
Mountains seen from Gibbet Hill, 66- 

69. 

N 
Names, fashion in given, 158, 159. 
Natural History of Groton, 1-45. 
Neck, the, 10S, 109. 



Oxen, 120. 







Palindromes, curious words and, 195, 

196. 
Pillion, use of a, 75. 
Plants, 6-20. 
Plates, wooden, 76. 
Ponds, 47-53. 

Prescott, Ezra, estate of, 193. 
Prescott, Col. William, inscription on 

monument, 157. 



Quarry, soapstone, 114-116. 

R 

Railroad meetings, 170, 171. 
Raising, a, 154. 
Reptiles, 30, 31. 
Residents, prominent, 147. 
Rivers, 46-47. 



INDEX. 



207 



Roads, 60, 61 ; highway from Groton 
to Concord, 137, 138; some, and 
streets, 11S-120; highway to Chelms- 
ford, 138, 139; to the West, 80; 
two thoroughfares to Boston, 134- 

136- 
Rockwood, Mrs. Sarah (Chaplin), 147, 

148, 164-166. 
Run-away, a, 194. 

S 
Salmon, in Nashua River, 73. 
Shattuck, John, an afflicted family, 185, 

186. 
Shattuck, Samuel Augustus, 201, 202. 
Shattuck, Sarah Parker, 201, 202. 
Soap, and leach-tubs, 82. 
Soapstone Quarry, 1 14-1 16. 
Stage, mail, Lowell and Worcester, 191, 

192. 
Stevens, Camp, at Groton, 131 - 1 33. 



Tallow dips, 97. 

Tomato, introduction of the, 103. 



Tornado, destructive, 1821, 109-114. 
Trees, 21-26; growth of, 100; shade 

and ornamental, S8-92. 
Trip from Worcester to Lowell, 189- 

191. 
Trumbull, James Hammond, on Indian 

name of Groton, 179, 1S0. 



Vertebrata, 29-45. 

W 

Wachusett, Mount, 101-103. 
Well, public, 97, 9S. 
Wells, artesian, 86, 87. 
Whitefield, George, 155-157. 
Wood, Charles Jewett, 192, 193. 
Woods, list of, in Groton, 117. 
Words, curious, and palindromes, 195, 

196 ; Indian, 178-1S1 ; survival of 

old, 74, 75- 



Young Ladies Academy, 194. 



HK195-78 



w 



v v 



.£. • « o ' .0' 









».o' ; 



■■■/- 



^ 












;- 



.**' 

rS^ 












<Vv* 



< V * * * o ^ 



■y *\ 






.-' 



»° .0° 



0^ ** 



v 






V 




V 



o 



■$ o 

' c 5 • • 





















■-!■■ 

















#^ 


•\? 




■; "o } : v "V 






t 




/ 1 




















*** 












o 











































































































































i* 





















































































J 73 

■*■ N.MANCH 

INDIANA 









I 



















ESTER, 






